A 

TREATISE 

O N 

FOREST-TREES: 

CONTAI NING 

Not only die bed Methods of their Culture hitherto praclifcd, 
but a variety of new and ufeful Discoveries, the refult of 
many repeated experiments : 

AS ALSO, 

Plain Directions for removing moft of the valuable kinds of 
Forest-Trees, to the height of thirty feet and upwards, u^ith certain 
fuccefs J 

AND, 

On the fanie principles, (with as certain fuccefs) for tranfplanting Hedges 
of fundry kinds, which will at once refill Cattle : 

TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 

Directions for the Difpofition, Planting, and Culture of H E D G E s, 
by obferving which, they will be handfomer and ftronger Fences in five years, 
than they now ufually are in ten. 

By WILLIAM B O U T C H E R, Nurseryman, 
At Comely-Garden, Edinburgh. /3 

. "^^ ^ 

IVho then Jlmll grace, or vjho iuipi-ove the foil ? 

Who plants like Bathurst, or iiho luUds like Boyle. 

T/j- ufe alone that fanSiifies expence, 

And fplendor borrows all her rays from fenfe. Popk. 



E D I J>[ B U R G H : 
Printed by R. Fleming, and fold by the Author, by J. Murray, Xc. 32. 
rleet-ftreel, London, and the other Bockfellers in Great Britain. 



M. D C C. L X X V. 



And each genuhie Copy is J^gned by 



To HIS GRACE 



Duke of Buccleugh, 



Earl of Dalkeith and Doncaster, 

(^C. '^'C. <^'C. 



My Lord Duke, 

l^TEITHER your Grace's Birtb nor Fortune, thd 
L ¥ the one is moft illufirious, and the other ample, 
were the motives that induced me to heg the honour of your 
countenance to the following Treatise, my point in vieiu 
heiuff, I conceive, of a h/aher nature than can he derived 
from any external advantages. TFhat I have here ivritten, 
is the effcB of much experience, and long ohfervation, — and 
J am made to believe, it will contribute to the general im- 
provement of our plantations, and confequently to the public 
hencfit. This being the principal ohjecl of the TV ork, to 
ivhom can I infcribe it -with Jo great propriety, as to your 
G R A G E, ivho, from the earlieft daxvn of manhood, has 



iif 



4 DEDICATION. 

invariably and indiijirioufly piirfued every meafure tending to 
fiipport the decaying honour^ and promote the real intereft 
of your country ? ' , ' 

Accept then, my Lord^ thefe humble ejfays, as the only 
means in my power moft exprejfive of that true efleem which 
I fenfhly feel, and which every hone ft con fi derate Scots- 
man muji, for fo noble and hold an ajferter of his country's 
rights and liberties, I am, with the utmofl deference and 
refpeB, 

My Lord Duke, 



Yovir Grace's moft obedient ^ 



And moft humble Servant, 



Comely-Garden, 
July 10. 1775. 



WILL. BOUTCHER. 



The preface 



AFTER the great number of books that have been publifhed 
on Gardening in general, fome of them by men of learn- 
ing and obfervation, it may to many appear unnecefTary, and 
even prefumptuous, to offer any thing new to the Public on that 
fubjecfl : But the Author of the following fheets flatters himfelf, 
that, on an attentive perufal of them, thefe impreffions will be 
removed ; that the fyftem is far from being exhaufted ; that the 
befl rules hitherto diredled are here extended and improved ; 
and that fo many new obfervations are made, as to render a 
very confiderable part of the work an original performance. 

To relate the many pleafures and advantages that attend the 
fkilful pradlice of Gardening in all its various branches, but 
particularly in that of noble and extended plantations, would ill 
become my humble talents, after the high encomiums beflowed 
on it by the greateft antient and modern authors. It is enough 
for me to fay, it has been the favourite ftudy and amufement of 
the greateft and wifeft Princes, Philofophers, Lawgivers, and 
Conquerors, many of whom have gladly retired from the ambi- 
tious purfuits of life, and enjoyed more folid and rational plea- 
fures in the virtuous innocent employments of planting, and 
cultivating their gardens and farms, than in all the magnificence 
and luxury of Courts. 



PREFACE. 



In the books hitherto pubUfhed on the cultivation of Foreft 
Trees, the rules have been very fhort and confined •. Their 
authors feem generally to have adopted the opinion, which yet 
unhappily prevails amongft the greateft number of unexperienced 
planters, that when they have put a young tree in the ground, 
they have done their duty, and that their labours are at an end : 
But fuch are fomewhat like unnatural parents, who negledl to 
tend and fofter their infant offspring, iince trees, as well .as ani-. 
mals, muft have food and difcipline, to rear them to {Irength, 
maturity, and good order. Thefe books comprehend no more, 
than fowing the feeds, planting the cuttings, or laying down 
the branches in their proper feafon, there to abide a certain time, 
and from thence to be tranfplanted to the nurfery, where they, 
are to continue two, three, or four years ; from the nurfery, to 
be removed to the places where they are meant to remain for. 
good ; and thus the bufinefs is at an end. But this Treatife is 
much more comprehenfive : It contains not only the befl me- 
thods of propagating plants in all their various ways, and of theii: 
culture to the common ages and fizes of tranfplanting prefent- 
ly pradlifed in Great-Britain, but will alfo4nftru6l the gardener, 
by plain, eafy, and certain methods, to remove moft of the va- 
luable deciduous Foreft Trees, to the height of thirty feet or up- 
wards, with the fame fafety as the fmalleft plant ; and that fuch 
will not only be as handfome trees, but will ever after advance, 
as mvich in growth, as thofe (landing in the fame, kind of foil and 
fituation, from having been planted young ; and that they will, 
without the expence of flaking, refift the moft impetuous winds, 
the greateft enemy of new-planted trees raifed and managed in 
the common way. 



PREFACE. 



Prom this culture of the trees too they may be planted with 
' die mod certain fuccefs, and without aily fenhble check to their 
growth, during all the fummer inonths, without any additional 
expence, further than two or three extraordinary waterings. 
„This circumftance alone ought furely to be of much confidera- 
tion in this climate, as our grounds in winter are ufually fo 
much lock'd up with froft, flooded with rains, or the w^cather 
otherways fo intemperate, that our common planting feafon is 
confined to a fmall part of fpring and autumn. I fliould like- 
wife imagine, that men of fortune, who fpend the winters in 
town, could hardly be more agreeably entertained in the coun- 
try, during the milder feafon, than in, as it were, creating (if I 
may be allowed the phrafe) verdant groves, thickets, avenues, <^'c. 

Nor is this plan confined to deciduous trees only ; it extends 
to many of the beft kinds of Evergreens, the greateft part of 

. which are now generally thought unfit for planting, after four, 
five, or fix years old : But here certain rules are given for remo- 

. ving them with the fame fafety as the other kinds, to the height 
^of eight, ten, and twelve feet, according to their different fpecies. 

On the fame principles lifceways, and with the fame advanta- 
ges, hedges of Thorns, and many other plants, may be remo- 
ved, that will immediately refift cattle, fhelter the ground, and 
fave the expence of ditches, palings, and other fences necefiTary 
to protedl them when young. 

To which is added, Obfervations on the beji method of plant- 
ing Hedges^ adapted to 'various foils and fttiiations. . Any improve- 
ment made on this fubjecft is certainly of great.. and univerfal 

a 2 



PREFACE. 



concern to this kingdom. By this not having been properly- 
adverted to, but left to the diredion of ignorant gardeners, or 
common labourers, much difcouragement has been given to in- 
clofmg with hedges ; and many perfons of fortune have, within 
thefe few years, beftowed large fums in that way to very little, 
purpofe. 

Several ufeful difcoveries are alfo fubjoined, on the improve- 
ments that may be made by Grafting and Inoculation, on flocks 
that will inlarge the fmailer kinds of plants, and render the 
tender more hardy. _ 

Most af the modern authors on Gardening have boldly in- 
cluded all its various parts,: This, I am afraid, is arrogating to . 
themfelves a reach of fancy and genius, that few, if any, have 
yet difcovered a juft title to. Had they confined their writings . 
to fewer branches, they would have acquired more reputation, , 
and been more ufeful to their country. And here, I humbly 
think, Mr Pope's caution to thofe indifcreet men who launch 
beyond their depth,. may with propriety be applied:. 

* ' One fcience only will one genius fit j 
*' So vaft is art, fo narrow human wit : 

Not only bounded to peculiar arts, 
*' But oft' in thofe confin'd. to fingle parts." 

I HAVE therefore in that refpe(5l endeavoured to avail myfelf, 
from the unfuccefsful prefumption of others : Confcious as I am 
of my contracSled abilities, and being doubtful of gratifying the 
Public on the topics here prefented, I have confined them to 



PREFACE. 



a few, and thofe only that have in a particular manner engaged 
my attention, and of which I have had much experience. 

To have the various produdlions of Gardening in any degree 
of perfedlion, I doubt we muft inlarge our prefent plan, of keep- 
ing one gardener only where much is to be done. I have for a 
fucceflion of years, and at different feafons, vifited with attention 
many of the moft elegant and magnificent feats in Great-Britain, , 
but never once in my life have feen all the different branches of 
the bufinefs properly executed, and the crops feafonably and 
imiformly flourifhing, in regular progreffion and beauty, under 
the management of one man. And how indeed is it pofTible it 
fhould be? Every gardener has his favourite points, which 
will be firft and befl done, and every fpecies of garden- 
ing muft be attended to at feveral periods of the year ; but, in 
the fpring, much the greateft part of all muft be executed in a 
few weeks. The kitchen-garden muft be crop'd with its various 
feeds and plants ; hot-beds muft be made, and conftantiy at- 
tended to ; the green-houfe, hot-houfe, and flower-garden, will 
employ much of the principal gardener's time and perfonal la- 
bour, — as will alfo the fruit-garden, in pruning the efpalier, 
wall, and ftandard trees. Thefe different parts have indeed a 
nearer connefhion than the others, and may with propriety come 
vinder the direction of one man, which, if he executes well, by 
providing a large family, and elegant table, in the great variety 
of wholefome hixury thefe gardens fliould abound with, he will 
find no idle time to fpare, though a perfon of knowledge 
in his profeffion, and of the greateft fobriety and indu- 
ftTy„ 



vi P Pv K F A C E. 



TiiF. oclicr prijiclpal part, formerly called tht P Id nfu re-garden^ 
in all tlie (lately late cleligns, coiififts chiefly in extennve lawns^ 
and ficUs of grafs, interfperfcd vfith large pl?.ntations of Foreil 
Trees and Flowering Shrubs, planted in the wilderneis way. To 
execute, and (from bad feafons, with other accidents) even to 
fupply the defedis of thefe works, as well as to keep up a provi- 
fion ior inclofing and planting the other parts of the eflate, a 
nurfery ought always to be flipported. The planting, annual 
prunmg, and culture of the foil in large wildernefs defigns, fo as 
both to promote the growth, and reduce, the trees to a beautiful 
ionn, requires fldll and labour. To fow the feeds of Flowering 
Shrubs, Fruit and Forefl: Trees, — to increafe them by layers, cut- 
tings, — to improve many kinds by grafting and inoculatioit, 
— and to remove them at proper periods, giving them all other 
necelTaj'y culture, — is as much as anyone man can fee executed 
with judgment ; and whatever gardener holds thefe performances 
in fo cheap a light as to allow their - being condudled by his 
common workmen, that moment he forfeits his pretenfions to 
fenfe and ability in his buiinefs, if not to honefty alfo. 

To men of plentiful fortunes then, who would promote all 
the various branches of Gardening, and enjoy them with refine- 
ment, I think two gardeners, for the different purpofes named, 
feem indifpenfibly necelTary : And I cannot help here proceeding 
a little farther, humbly to reprefent, that the mofl efFedlual me- 
thod of promoting tlie more univerfal knowledge of the art in 
this part of the kingdom, would be to give the gardener double 
the encouragement we ufually do, as the prefent (I mean in ge- 
neral) is extremely difpropqrtioned to the importance of his 
office. 



P R E F A C E. 



vii 



I MUST lay it down as a principle, that fome fmali degree of 
learning at leafh is neceffary to make a good gardener ; and what 
fenfible man will beftow that on his fon, to qualify him for an 
employment, that, to all appearance, and without fome uncom- 
monly favourable circumftance, will never gain him more than 
fifteen or twenty pounds a year ? or what boy of fpirit and ge- 
nius will fludy a profeffion, from which he can only receive fo 
poor a return ? It therefore appears to me very certain, that an 
increafe of wages to thefe vifeful men, would, in a fhort time, 
have mofl deiireable efFe(5ls, and that we Ihould then have at 
command twenty intelligent gardeners, where we now perhaps 
are at a lofs to find one ; nor is it to be doubted the mafter would 
gain in greater proportion than the fervant. 

A GREAT manbeftows from fifty to a hundred pounds a year 
. on a French cook ; for a Britifli gardener, feldom more than from 
twenty to forty. I defpife all national refle(5lions, and efteem an 
honeft Frenchman of any profelTion, but in a particular manner 
a French cook ; yet I can by no means think him intitled to fo 
great an advantage above the other. Every body knows the befi 
cook cannot furnifh out a handfome table without the aiTiftance 
of a good gardener; and perhaps there is as much judgment 
required in raifing materials of the beft quality, as in dreiTmg 
them well,. 

However, from what I have here faid, endeavouring to put 
the gardener on the footing I think a good one deferves, I am, 
as has been hinted, far from m.eaning to depreciate a good 
French cook ; nor am I either clownifli or morofe enough, to 
furmife, that a man of birth and opulence fliould deny himfelf 



viii 



PREFACE 



the elegance that attends the labours of thefe induftrlous men : 
On the contrary, as the natvire of my profefTion, in planning and 
deiigning ground works, has often procured me the honour of 
fitting at the beft tables, where I have often eat of dillies dreft in 
the French manner, I muft acknowledge I ever thought them 
both as pleafant and healthful as the bed Britilh I had ever 
tailed. Notwithftanding which, I efteem the various labours of an 
able gardener, to be of a nobler nature, and of more folid impor- 
tance to every perfon, from a Prince to a private man, than all 
the diilies invented from the birth of Cleopatra to the prefent 
date. 

As inclofing ground with hedges, and making plantations of 
Foreft trees, are the firft principles, and moft folid foundation for 
promoting all the different branches of hufbandry and garden- 
ing, our northei-n climate being highly improved by thefe 
means, the greateft encouragement is furely due from all lovers 
of their country, to whoever fliall contribute to the executing 
thefe important points, in a handfomer, more fuccefsful, and 
more expeditious manner than is generally pradlifed, — though 
I am forry to fay, we are lefs attentive to, and farther be- 
hind in knowledge of the beft methods for effecting this, than 
in moft other improvements. We plainly fee, that, to procure 
the quick growth and comely figure of our ovm hardy native 
plants, we muft give them the mutual afliftance of one another; 
and how much more neceffary flicker is in rearing tender foreign 
trees and vegetables with any exuberance of growth, is too plain 
to infift on. To that alone, then, we owe all the choiceft deli- 
cacies of the table, and the more refined pleafure of viewing 
a vaft variety of the moft beautiful plants in nature, the 



P R E F A C K. 



original produilion of more temperate climates, flourifliing in 
our open air. 

As a good nm-feryman can fooneft and rnoft effedually pro- 
■cm^e us fuch effential advantages and pleafures, I cannot help 
thinking him, for thefe and many other reafons, juftly intitled to 
be ranked in the higheft clafs of gardeners ; but I am afraid this 
is only the cafe with the few of found judgment, and extended 
genius, — and that with the general, the unthinking, and con- 
tradled part, a man who can ralfe an early cucumber, or melon, 
is in much higher eftimation, tho', in all the various parts of the 
profefiion, nothing is more plain and fimple, than thefe operati- 
ons with the affiftance they have of glafles and dung : To which 
may be added, that the fubjedt of kitchen-gardening is much 
more exhaufted than the culture of trees, from being more ge- 
nerally praclifed, as more eafily undertaken. The returns of 
profit from nurfery are tedious, and to proceed in it to any con- 
fiderable degree, a man muft be wealthy, as he muft long be 
out of his money ; but the returns from the other being annual, 
the ftock required for it finall in comparifon, and the luxury of 
the prefent times having raifed the price both of early and late 
vegetables very high, it becomes a more tempting bait for the 
bulk of mankind ; whence good nurferymen, or good nurferies, 
are not fo frequently to be found as could be wifhed. 

Notwithstanding the importance of a good nurfery-gar- 
dener to his country, and the general efteem in which fuch have 
formerly been held, that profeflion has lately fallen into much 
contempt, and, in fome refpe(5ts, for jufl caufes. From the fuc- 
cefs of a few fenfible judicious men in it, various impoftor^ 

h 



X PREFACE. 



have flarted up, by th€ ftrength of a little money, and a 

great" deal of allurance, now aflume that charadler, tho' unr 
bred to, or unknowing in the meaneft branch of gardening, but 
followers of the groffefl and moft unthinking employments, in 
diredl oppoHtion to the cool obfervation and deliberate fludy of 
Nature in her admirable produ6lions. Some of thefe gentlemen 
have fet out, by amufmg mankind, under no meaner pretence 
than ferving their coimtry, by reducing the price of trees : But 
they are not confiderate enough themfelves to reflect, that an in- 
telligent gardener will readaly difcover their pra(5lice as fubver- 
live of every improvement he can poffibly hope foon to make 
from the purchafe of their plants^ which are crowded together with 
many times the number that ought to be in the fame quantity 
of ground; from whence they can well afford to fell their ftunt.'- 
ed, fmothered fluff, at a lower price than an honeft knowing 
gardener can raife good plants for. To appear more formidable 
too in this quackery,, they have publiffied pompous catalogues 
of they know not what, collected I know not where, and flrange- 
ly jumbled together no body knows how, of half, the plants in 
the creation, and fome that L believe never were in it ; but they 
have forgot to provide even fpecimens of many of thefe wonder- 
ful productions, and when you go to purchafe them,, you have 
the mortification to find they were fold the preceding week or day. 
To thefe catalogues they have likeways affixed prices, in imitation 
of fome petty nurferymen in the North of England, who, not 
having abilities in their profeffion to pufh their way by the fale 
of good plants to fldlful men, have had recourfe to this pradlicej 
by felling bad ones at the expence of the ignorant and unwary; 
I have been well acquainted with the pra(5lice of the mofl emi- 
nent nurferymen in the South of England near thirty years j . 



PREFACE. 



xi 



during which period, there is not any material difference in the 
prices of the moft ufeful capital plants. They are generally an 
honeft, fenfible, induflrious fet of men, and their emulation is of 
a virtuous kind, tending to public utility, as it confifts in who 
fhall raife the beft, not the cheapeft trees, — fenfible that thefe 
improperly cultivated are dear of any price, and that the great- 
eft difference of prices is an inconfiderable circumftance, even 
to a poor man, compared to the confequences that mufl enfue 
from their having been of a good or ill quality. 

•It gives me the moft fenfible pain to be under the necefhty of 
laying any thing that has the appearance of fevcrity or ill na- 
ture, as I hold in the greateft abhorrence and deteftation, every 
principle tending to traduce an honeft well-meaning man. I have 
the comfort however to think, that none fuch will be offended 
with what I have faid in the prefent cafe ; but be that as it may, 
I am certainly bound, by all the ties of truth, and gratitude to 
my country, to detedl whatever errors I difcover on a fubjedl 
that is the bafis of its greateft improvements, and w^hich not at- 
tended to, but the prefent defects in the culture of trees and 
hedge-plants allowed to proceed, muft terminate in at leaft great- 
ly retarding that cultivation our farms and gardens would other- 
ways admit of. 

I ESTEEM every honeft ju^dicious nurferyman in the kingdom, 
and moft heartily wifli their number incr^afed. To many of them 
I have reprefented the ill confequences that muft naturally arife 
from not beftowing proper culture on their plants : The common 
return is, that others felling their crowded, half-fuffocated ones, 
at a price below what they can afford to raife them for at proper 

b 2 



PREFACE. 



diilances, and to give them proper removals, they are conftrain-- 
ed to go with the current, many piirchafers not being Ikilful e- 
noiigh to eftimate the vahie of a tree by any other ftandard than its 
height, vs^ithout attending to the far more effential circmxiftances 
of its roots, thicknefs, and proportion. To thefe defences I have 
ever obferved, what I am certain would have been the cafe, that 
a perfeverance in the beft practice would foon flop the progrefs 
of thefc invaders, and make them fenfible of their inability to^ 
overcome the honefty and induftry of good gardeners, and. that 
as they had ftarted up like muflirooms, they would, vanifh like 
finoak ; but if thofe v/ho ought to know, better will adopt their - 
pernicious principles, it is hard to fay how or when they may 
ftop, if vigorous meafures are not ufed to oppofe.them,. 

In this cafe, if felf-interefl: is juflly confideredj independent of 
other more facred confiderations, the Scots nurferymen and feeds- 
men have the mod flattering example before their eyes, to animate 
them in the purfuit of fuch a pra6lice as I have here endeavour- 
ed to recommend ; and that is, in two perfons, a father and 
fon, of their profelTion, who, having made it an invariable rule 
in bufmefs^ notwithftanding whatever prefent iofs they might 
fuflain, to fell no articles but the moll excellent of their kinds^ 
foon were juftly eftabliihed in fo exteniive a reputation and trade, 
as has acquired them large, fortunes, with unblemifhed charac- 
ters, and that too perhaps with greater eafe, than many others 
have procured a fcanty fubfiftence, whofe principles were not efta- 
blifhed on fo rational and folid a foundation, I have no inten- 
tipn to flatter by this remark. I never had any obligations to,, 
or connections with the parties I mean, nor have any further 
knowledge of them than their cliarad^ers and faces ; but, on the 



PREFACE. 



xiii 



prefent fubjed, I will neither applaud a friend, nor detra(5l from 
an enemy, without juft grounds, but tell my undifguifed fenti- 
ments upon it to the beft of my knowledge,: — and fliali venture to 
predict, that whoever fleadily adheres to the practice of thofe who 
have been mentioned as examples, will, in fome degree, partake 
of their good fortune. 

The pra(5lice I have here advifed is plain, andeafily executed, 
nor can I believe any man of refletflion will doubt of its fuccefs : 
But how unlucky would fome of our late fanguine undertakers 
be, who having endeavoured, at confiderable expence, to merit 
the favour of the Public, by the redu(£lion of prices, the preven- 
tion of impofition from others, and the extirpation of all garde- 
ners who oppofe their publicrfpirited plans, ^ — how lamentable in- 
deed, if, after all thefe worthy attempts, which they have pub- 
lifhed in fo modeft and affedling a manner, their thanklefa 
country fliould negledl beftowing on them either an increafe of 
reputation or wealth !; 

To ftop the fall ihcreaflng evil of nurferymen (or thofe who 
call themfelves fo) felling bad plants, to the general difcourage- 
ment of improvements, would fhow a truly public fpirit ; but 
I am afraid no private obfervations or communications, how- 
ever jvifl and well meant, will anfwer the end deiired, particu- 
larly from one of the profefTion ; and that, to eifedluate the cure, 
(than which I conceive nothing more eafy), the Public muft be 
the phyfician. 

Every body knows the general and amazingly good effedls of 
t^e premiums given by the Coixnniffioners and Truflees for 



xiv P R E F A C E. 



maniifadures and improvements in Scotland. As one inflance of 
many, I fliall only mention that given to thofe who raifed the 
,greateft quantity of the beft kinds of Potatoes, which ought to 
eternize their names. At that period, from the exorbitant price of 
corn, the poor were in the utmoft diftrefs, and that root was pro- 
portionably high : But no fooner were the premiums for it publifli- 
ed, than an almofl univerfal fpirit and emulation arofe amongft 
the farmers and kitchen-gardeners, who fhould excel, which, 
joined to an increafe of knowledge in its culture, from extenfive 
pradlce, in two or three years reduced the former price to lefs 
th an one half; fb that it fuddenly became, and ftill continues to 
be, the greatefl: part of common labourers food. 

From refle<£ling on the falutary effedls of thefe premiums, and 
the bad flate of our nurferies, I cannot help humbly begging 
leave to reprefent to that Honourable Board, That were an 
honorary reward (as I imagine a pecuniary one would be un- 
necelTary) publiflied at the end of four, five, or fix years, as they 
may judge moft proper, to the perfon who fliall raife, from the 
youngeft to the largeft plantable fizes, the greatefl quantity of 
the beft cultivated Fruit and Foreft-trees, Hedge-plants, and 
other ufeful nurfery articles, in proportion to the extent of land 
he employs for thefe purpofes, and a committee of fliiiful candid 
men appointed to vifit the nurferies about Edinburgh, or where 
elfe they fliall think them v/orthy of notice in Scotland, 
at niid-fummer when cloathed with their leaves, or in au- 
tumn before the planting feafon commences, — to infpec5t the 
various methods of their culture, and general fyftem of ma- 
nagement, — to fee fpecimens of the plants raifed, for examination 
of their roots, as well as the proportion of their bodies, — and to 
advertife in the ufual way the perfon mofl: deferving, — I am 



1 



PREFACE. 



firmly perfuaded we fliould proceed faftcr on the road to the gene- 
ral improvement of our plantations, than from all the writings 
and examples of the ableil men, or even from any other method 
that can be devifed for the purpofe. This would be making a 
man of real merit in his profellion juftly confpicuous ; it would, 
detecl ignorance and quackery, and expofe the impoftures of the 
pretended patriot nurferymen, who fell cheap for the good of 
their country. Were this the cafe, every man of abilities would 
exert them, both as the means of fupporting his reputation, and 
procuring his bread ; — we fhould immediately fee a very material, 
difference in the equality of common fale plants from their im- 
proved culture, and the bufinefs would then only be carried on 
by thofe who were able to condud: it properly, and for the pub- 
lic benefits 

Of air quacks I know, next to tliofe in phyfic, who rob us of 
our healths and lives, the mofl; dangerous are quacks in nurfery- 
gardening ; — they not only rob us of our money, but, what is far 
worfe, keep us long in the anxious expe6lation of what we never 
enjoy. To the injuries we fuffer by bad Foreft-trees and Hedge- 
plants, which are many and great, others may be added of a 
mofl difagreeable and hurtful nature. After a man has planted 
an orchard, furniflied his kitchen-garden with Elpalier and 
Wall- trees of kinds agreeable (as he believes) to his tafle, or 
his convenience and profit, been at a confiderable expence in 
the culture of them, and waited many years in hopes of a grate- 
ful return, for his money and iabour,~yet after all this, when 
the trees become fruitful, if he finds himfelf utterly difappointed, 
and, in place of the forts he required, has nothing he wanted, 
but perhaps every thing he diflikes, I need not mention . how. 



Xvi 



P H E F A C E. 



bale the deceit is, and how fliocking to tlie peribii tlius deceived, 
Yxtc being too fiicrt often to repair thefe misfortunes. Such 
circumftances however are far from being uncommon, and too 
many gentlemen in Scotland will lliake their heads with hearty 
concern on the remembrance of fimilar cafes, and fecond me in 
the juface of this obfervation, and how necelTary it is to be 
cautious in the choice of nurferymen. 

It has been an almofc univerfally received opinion, that trees 
ought to be raifed in the nurfery on a poorer foil than that to 
which they are afterwards to be tranfported for good ; and it 
has been direded by many, otherways the mod refpedable au- 
thors. I mufl acknowledge this doArine has a very fpecious 
appearance at firft view : I adhered to it early in life, and it is 
fo feemingly confiflent wdth Nature, that I am not furprized it 
has been generally adopted by young planters ; at the fame time, 
I cannot account for thofe who have had much pradlice, and 
long experience, not expofing the errors of it. 

In the following fheets I have given fome examples, from 
frequently repeated experiments, of the ill effedls I have felt 
by planting young and tender feedlings in the pooreft foils, 
and the greater fuccefs attending thofe that were well-grown, 
on the fame, or in fimilar fituations. The confequences of railing 
plants on pooi hungry land, are no lefs fatal than planting the 
feedlings in fuch, and fliould as much as pofTible be avoided. I 
have mentioned, in the culture of many trees, the neceffity of pro- 
moting their vigorous growth at firft, in order to their becoming 
ftately and handfome ; nor can this be effeCled by any other 
means than being early nurfed in generous foil, for whatever 



PREFACE. 



XV 11 



future purpofes they are meant, or to whatever lltuatlons they 
are defthied; and that if they are but barely fupported from in- 
fancy on meagre ground, they will never afterwards become 
ftrong, though removed to that which is rich and feeding. The 
caufes for this, when the fubjedl is fearched to the bottom, are 
demonftrably plain : From their harfh and unfriendly food tliey 
contrad difeafes, which, if not immediately mortal, are certain- 
ly incurable ; they neceffarily have bad roots, they are hide- 
bo\md, and their branches weak and crooked ^ in fhort, tho' 
they may long languifli in the ftate of bufhes, they will never 
arrive to the magnitude of what may properly be called trees. 

But though I have advifed trees to be raifcd on good land, 
let it be underftood, I mean that only which is naturally fo, 
and not what has lately been forced and pampered with dung, 
or at leaft before that dung has been mellowed and reduced to 
the confiftence of earth, fuch being yet more baneful to trees in 
general, than even the pooreft foils. 

I AM not furprifed at the frequent complaints made by Gentle- 
men, on the trees they often have from the nurferies about Edin- 
burgh. I know from fome quarters they have too good caufe for 
fuch complaints. I have feen confiderable portions of thefe gar- 
dens covered five or fix inches deep with new-made horfe and cow 
dung, immediately dug into the ground, and, without the in- 
tervention of a fingle week, planted with trees and hedge-plants. 
I fliould be forry to think, nor do I believe, that many of my 
readers will require a defcription of the effects, arifing from this 
fliamelefs pradlice ; but, to the few yet quite uninformed, I fliall 
only mention, that from this corruption at the root of the 

c 



xviii PREFACE. 



plant, after {landing fome time, it will become bliflered, which 
blifters will contain vermin, and thefe vermin, by eating the 
roots, occafion a fefter, that, communicating with the juices 
in the body, will contaminate it alfo, make it become fcabbed 
and hide-bound, to a degree no remedy will cure, — and in this 
ugly (late the tree grows annually weaker, till it perilli. This 
infe6lion, however, does not foon difcover itfelf, as, for fome 
years, from the abundance though groffnefs of its food, it will 
make prodigious fhoots, — and, from thefe unnatural flioots, they 
are boafted of as fine healthful plants, without refledling on tlie. 
latent poifon in their veins, 

I KNOW not if I may be Indulged in venturing to make fome 
diftant comparifon between thefe plants (animated as they feem 
at firft with the rank firey particles of new dung) and a man who 
drinks excelTively of brandy, or other fpirituous liquors : The one 
exults for a time in immoderate, tho' falfe wit and gaiety; the 
other feem to fmile in the difplay of a no lefs extravagant 
growth ; but both, in the long run, become difeafed, faint, and. 
languid. Whether I am right in this obfervation, I fliall not pre- 
tend to determine; but I certainly believe lam, in thinking a nur- 
feryman, who is guilty of this fraud, more hurtful to the Public, 
and better intitled to banifhment, than fome poor rogues I have 
known undergo that fentence : Such charadlers, however, I know ; 
but it is my bufinefs only to expofe bad pra(ftices, not bad 
men. It is thefe, and other circumftances of ill management, 
that have chiefly founded the common report, of trees raifed on 
good foils not afterwards fucceeding in that which is worfe, — tho' 
there is nothing I can with more confidence alTure my readers of, 
than that I have had very many of the clearefl demonflrations to 
the contrary, where the plants were cultivated with judgment. 



PREFACE. 



In works of this kind, it is common to have a long diilertation 
on the foils moft proper to be chofen for raifing nurfery ; but this 
has generally appeared to me only an innocent method of fvvcll- 
ing a book, when an author is coftive in furnifliing other mate- 
rials. I have defcribed the foils that the different plants treated 
of moft affedl, and the beft manner of preparing thefe foils, at the 
fame time with the other circumftances of culture, which I 
imagine is the fubftantial part of all that can be faid on the fub- 
je6l. A¥ith refpetft to the choice of foil, people muft in general 
put up with the beft they can get, as he muft be either a very 
cunning, or very lucky gardener, who fliail difcover fo fmall a 
fpot of ground as is commonly required for a nurfery-garden, 
confifting of as many various qualities as Vv^ill be agreeable to 
all the plants neceftary there to be raifed : This muft be the ef- 
fed: of judgment and labour, nor does Nature often admit of our 
enjoying fuch advantages but by the fweat of our brow, I fliall 
therefore only further obferve, that the moft defirable foil for a 
nurfery, is that which is loofe and dry, reduced to the fmalleft 
particles by frequent digging and raking, and which, if of a ge- 
.nerous nature, does not require great depth ; but the worft qua- 
lity of the worft land, is that which neareft approaches to heavy 
moift clay, wherein the trees will neither root liberally, nor our 
ufual weather in winter and fpring admit of its being laboured, 
but at particular, and frequently too late periods ; whence it is 
impoifible, that bufinefs can be carried on to any confiderable 
extent,, feafonably, in fuch grounds. 

I HAVE faid fo much, on various occafions in the following 
Treatife, of the difadvantages the kingdom fuftains from the ig- 
norant or ill-defigned culture of plants, as probably to be accr.fed 

c 2 



s:x PREFACE. 



of repetition. If I fliould be fo, I fliall not endeavour to defend my- 
felf, as in truth I could not eaiily avoid it ; for where the errors are 
very grofs, and their corre6lion of fo much moment, I imagine 
juit imprefTions of them cannot be too deeply rooted : In which 
cafe, I flatter myfelf, a fault of this kind may probably pafs 
as a more pardonable fpecies of bad writing, than fome others. . 

It may probably be objedled by fome, that tranfplanting large 
trees has often been pra«£lifed without fuccefs. This is a melan- 
choly truth, too glaring to be denied ; tho' the reafons for it 
are no lefs obvious, — they have proceeded without judgment, 
and their m-ifcarriages were a natural confequence. But in this 
Treatife the former errors are correiHied, and a rational fyftem,, 
founded on Nature, and confirmed by experience, difclofed. 

Large trees raifed and cultivated after this manner, fo far 
from fucceeding worfe than thofe planted young, will, from their, 
much greater abundance of roots fpreading near the furface, and 
enjoying all the benefits of the heavenly influences, grow much 
more freely, than luch v^^hofe roots, being deeper, are ftruggling 
with cold, fluggifli, inanimated foil. 

When a man has made a plantation of young trees, his la- 
bours, as has been hinted, are but begun ; but by follov/ing this 
pra<5lice, they are ended, as the plants, being above the fize of re- 
ceiving injury from cattle, and reduced to their proper form by 
different prunings, require little or no further attention. 

By adopting this mode of culture too, a perfon who will at once 
raife or purchafe as many of the better kinds of young trees as 



PREFACE. 



xxi 



anfwer his future defigns, tho' he is twenty years in executing 
his plan, may, at the end of that time, have his ornamental 
plantations of equal fize and beauty. 

It has been a great difcouragement, and is a frequent obfer- 
vation made by men advanced in years, that from the fmall {ize 
of trees ufually planted, they cannot hope to fee them in any 
great degree of beauty or perfe(5lion during their lives. By fol- 
lowing the rules here laid down, this difcouragement will be 
entirely removed ; and fuch as are above the regard of common 
expence, may have a flourifhing plantation of well-grown trees 
in one feafon, as the principles on which the whole of the plan 
proceeds are infallibly certain, and ought to be convincing, even 
on perufil of the work, to every perfon of an ordinary capacity, 
and moderate. knowledge of Gardening. 

In fome papers of the Spectator, on the pleafures of imaginii- 
tion, we have a rnoft ravifhing defcription of an Evergreen, or 
Winter Garden. Mr Addifon, the author of thefe papers, from 
a clofe attention to his immortal writings, was not much fkilled 
in the pra6lical parts of Gardening, but, when difengaged from 
more intenfe ftudies, it was his favourite amufement ; and as the 
llighteft obfervations of fo great a man are infinitely preferable 
to the moft laboured precifion of an inferior genius, of all the 
later defcriptions I have read, or plans feen executed, I never 
was fo much animated on that fubjeifl as from the hints he has 
thrown out, tho' the defigns for gardens in his time w^cre of a 
much more contradled kind than now, and lefs imitative of the 
charmxing negligence of Nature. But after Avhat he has faid, for 
me to inlarge on the comfort and pleafure ftich a place, not. 



xxn 



PREFACE. 



diflant from the houfe, and well difpofed, imift afford during 
fcA^cral of our winter months, would be the higheft prefumption 
and vanity : Therefore I fliall only obferve, that I cannot help 
looking on it as a capital defeft in our elegant and extended de- 
igns, that no attention is paid to a circumftance fo conducive to 
health, and producSlive of pleafure. 

Having endea.voured to avoid extending this Treatife to any 
uimeceffary length, in the catalogues of the plants I have only 
given the diflerent fpecies, their commonly received names in 
England and Scotland, their botanical chara<fters being univer- 
faliy known to the Learned, and of no ufe to the young and illi- 
terate gardener, but in fome cafes might more probably perplex 
and confufe him, and, till he is a little advanced in the know- 
ledge of Botany, rather expofe his ignorance, than eftabiifh 
his reputation for judgment. 

In like manner I have abridged the catalogues of many 
authors, fome of whom have wrote without experience of what 
they recommend, and others, either more ignorant or defigning, 
have given or created different names to the fame plant. This, 
I can honeftly affure my readers, I have carefully guarded againft. 
The fpecies I have mentioned are diftin6l, and I have recom- 
mended none but thofe that from experience I believed worthy 
of it. 

Th e common tifes and virtues of the timber of fuch trees as 
are not frequently cut down with us, I have principally taken 
from Mr Evelyn, as Mr Miller had done before me ; but to thefe 
I have added other well-attefled circumflances relating to them. 



P R E F A C E. 



xxili 



No book on Gardening can now be altogether original, from 
the many great improvements made ; but the fubjccl v/i)l }et 
admit of very many advances towards the more perfecft know- 
ledge of it. It is far from my intention to introduce nov'cl 
doctrine, or to make innovations on the general culture of 
plants, where I have not found it defe(!^live. But this I have 
by no means clone : I have, as others ufually do in early life, 
taken many hints from different authors, and examples f om 
pra6lical gardeners, tried their elfedts, and, where fuccefsful^ 
have followed and diredled them : But I have not relied fatis- 
fied with what may be called bare fuccefs ; I have endeavoured 
to improve on the beft rules I knew, to aboliih fome others 
altogether, fubftituting better in their place, and, for the gene- 
ral fyflem of culture here directed, I am unconfcious of being 
indebted to any author or other man. That I have many years 
ago fuceeeded in my own practice by folio vv^ing the fyftem 
here laid down, I have the moft inconteftible evidence to ad- 
duce ; but to convince unbelievers at a. diftance, muft be the 
effedl of trial, which is all I require. In the mean time, I 
fliall Hften to the voice of the Public with the greateft refpcct 
and deference, and, as far as in my power, amend whatever 
errors are juftly pointed at^ 

Having mentioned Mr Evelyn, I muft here exprefs the fen- 
fible pleafure I feel, from hearing a fine impreffion of his Silva, 
with notes by fbme Gentlemen of approved learning, and know- 
ledge of Gardening, is now printing. His obfervations on the 
culture of young plants in the feed-bed and nurfery, tho' the 
beft publiflied before or during his time, are hnce then much 
improved, and they now becom.e the leaft valuable part of his 
work ; but the additions and remarks on thefe, with the other 
elTential improvements that will apparently be made,, muft render 



XXIV 



P R E F A C E. 



il die mofL valuable book on the fubjecPc ever appeared. His jufl 
crxcomiums on the pleafures .-^nd advantages arinng from weli- 
cuklvated plantations, if attentively read by young men of edu- 
cation and fortune, mull animate all but the moft taftelefs and 
dull to the purfuits of Gardening ; , and fome of his chapters to 
that purpofe, ought to be recorded in capital letters of gold, and 
Imng up in the dining-rooms of ail rich men who love their coun- 
try, or mean to give the mod ftriking example of true patriotifm 
to tlie prefent and fucceeding generations. 

I A M far from the vanity of believing, that many juft reflexions 
may not be thrown out againft the following Treatife. Tho' I 
have had much experience in the culture of trees, I have none 
from writing in fo public a manner ; and my moft fanguine 
expedlations will be accomplilhed, if an abler pen will improve 
and extend my hints in a more mafterly way, — to whom I fliall 
be happy to communicate any farther obfervations I am capable 
of making. . - 

From fliowing my manufcript, (which I have often done with- 
out ceremony), and fome of the contents tranfpiring, I am already 
fcnfible of having enemies amongft fome of the nurferymen. I 
cannot help it, having done but my duty. I wijfh none of them 
ill, and defire them, for their own fakes only, to refiedl, that till 
they refute my arguments, their enmity to me will but the more 
expofe themfelves : — I fliould be ungrateful at the fame time, if 
I meant that to be underftood of the profeffion in general, as I 
have the pleafure to believe, it is not the greater part of them, 
or thofe moft formidable, for knowledge at leaft, that are fo ilj 
inclined. 



PREFACE. XXV 



I AM fenfible the humble flile of this work mny rendcj- it 
obnoxious to fomc of the many Critics with which thib age 
abounds, who may clifphiy their learning, if not ill-nature, at 
my expence, though ignorant of the fubjecSl on which I treat. 
To the corre(5lion of the fenfible and candid I will patiently fab- 
mit, and endeavour to improve myfelf from their obfervations : 
But the partial and fnarling fpecies of them, I hold in the great- 
eft contempt ; for as fuch can neither affe(5l my intereft nor re- 
putation, they lhall be unable to ruilie my temper. I acknow- 
ledge myfelf incapable of adorning my fubje^l with the beauties 
of language, or, if I were, fliould I be very follicitous about it : 
For though I have reafon to believe this fimple Treatife will be 
admitted into many libraries, both of the Great and Learned, yet 
if the principles of culture on which I proceed are juft, their 
politenefs and humanity will excufe other delects ; to which I 
muft add, that it is far from being intended for fuch alone, 
but no lefs to inflrucl the ignorant and illiterate gardener 
(to whom the plaineft language is furely the befl) in fuch 
pracSlices as will improve our plantations, both in point of beau- 
ty and profit. I have not ventured hov/ever on this publication, 
without the approbation of feveral Gentlemen of candour, learn- 
ing, and knowledge in Gardening, — and by them I have been 
perfuaded to give it to the Public in my own homely drefs, 
wherein alone it now appears, and which is the more agreeable 
to me, as I have ever thought, that even the difguife of another 
man's language is a kind of impofition on the world, and that 
it is but juft to publifli one's own fentiments in one's own way. 

I SHALL only further intimate to thol'e (if any fuch there be) 
who feel themfelves fore from what I have written, that no 

d 



V II E F A C 'E. 



fboncL- v^lll I have an opportunity, than give them the mofl con- 
vincing proof of the reclitncle of mv intentions, and that I have 
no pcrfonal rcfcntment at any one of them : — ^That the obferva- 
tions I have made on the general bad culture of trees, are appa- 
i-^ntly too jufh and that confequently it was my indifpeniibie 
duty, when vvriting on a fubjecl of fuch univerfal concern, 
to dcteifl the errors I difcovered, as the only means of having 
them if.mended. AYhoever begins to renounce his former 
ill practices, I Ihall, with fuperior pleafure, in place of the 
painful fenhitions I have felt from what is faid, exert my utmoft 
endeavours, and ufe the llrongefl expreffions I am capable of, 
by applauding them in the mod public manner ; and if com- 
municating the eile^ls of my experience is thought worthy 
their notice, they may, from the fincerity of my heart, com- 
mand me with the moft unreferved freedom. The greater 
part of them will probably, and I hope juftly, think them- 
feives above fo mean an afTiftance, yet the young and unexperi'-- 
enced may reap fome advantage by it. 

I WERE unworthy the indulgence I have received from the 
Public in general, and ungrateful to my Subfcribers in particu- 
lar, to conclude this, withovit expreffing (what I truly feel) the 
w^armeft gratitude for the afTiflance their liberal fubfcription af- 
forded me in carrying on this publication. The quality, if not 
the munber of thofe, does me honour, as I can boaft of many 
the greatefb and moft refpecflable names in the kingdom ; and 
if I am fortunate enough to have contributed to the good of my 
country, and of confequence to their pleafure or advantage, I 
have obtained the higheft reward my moft fanguine hopes ever 
pdinted at;. 



[ xxvii ] 



SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 

His Grace the Duke of Argyll, 4 Books ^ 
His Grace the Duke of Atholl, 4 Books. 
Right Hon. the Earl of Aberdeen, 2 Books. . 
Lieutenant-General James Abercromby. 

Hon. Lord Auchinleck, one of the Senators of the College of 
Juftice. 

Hon. Lord Alva, one of the Senators of the College of Juftice. 
Hon. Lord Alemoor, one of the Senators of the College of Ju- 
ftice. 

Alexander Auchyndachy of Kincragie, Efq; advocate. 
Alexander Alifon, Efq; deputy-cafliier of Excife. 
James Abercromby of Brucefield, Efq; 
John Adam, Efq; architedl^ . 
Thomas Adair, Efq; : 
Alexander Arbuthnott, Efq; . 

Mr Robert Anderfon nurferyman and feedfman, 2 Books. 

B? 

His Grace the Duke of Buccleugh, 2 Books. 
Right Hon. the Earl of Buchan. 
Right Hon. the Earl of Balcarras. 
Right Hon. Lord Belhaven. 

Hon. George Baillie of Jarvifwood, Efq; 2 Books. 

d 2 



XXV 111 



SUBSCRIBERS./ 



Sir Alexander Bui'iiet of Leys, Baronet. 
Major-General Boyd. 

Captain Alexander Baillie of Parbroatli, Efq; 
George Brown of Ellifton, Efq; one of the Commiilioners of 
Excife. 

William Baillie of Polkemmet, Efq; advocate. 
Andrew Balfour, Efq; advocate. 

Rev. Dr Hugh Blair, profefTor of Rhetorick and Belles Lettres 

in the univerfity of Edinburgh. 
Jofeph Banks, Efq; London. 
James Bruce of Kinrofs, Efq; 
James Buchanan of Drumpiller, Efq; 
Thomas Brown of Braid, Efq; 
Hary Barely of Killernie, Efq; 
James Brodie of Brodie, Efq; 
Adam Blair of Blair, Efq; 
Henry Butter of Pitlochry, Efq; 
Henry Bethime, Efq; 
Robert Bontine of Ardoch, Efq; 
John Baird, Efq; merchant in Glafgow. 
Dr Robert Barclay, 2 Books. 

Mr William Borthwick feedfman in Edinburgh, 4 Books. 
Mr James Bayne land-furveyor and defigner of ground. 
Mr John Burrel chamberlain of Kinniel, 3 i Books. 

C 

Right Hon. the Earl of Crawford, 
Right Hon. Lord Cathcart. 

Right Hon. Lord Frederick Campbell, Lord-Regifter of Scot- 
land. 



SUBSCRIBER S, xxlx 



Right Hon. Lord Colvill. 

Right Hon. Lord Cranfton, 2 Books. 

Hon. Lord Coalfton, one of the Senators of the College of Juflice. 
Sir James Clerk of Pennycuick, Baronet. 

Sir James Cockburn, Baronet, heretable uflier of the White 

Rod, 2 Books. 
Sir William-Auguftus Cunnyngham, Baronet. 
Sir James Colquhoun of Lufs, Baronet. 
Sir Walter Montgomery-Cuningham, Baronet. 
Major-Gen eral Sir Eyre Coote, Baronet. 
Major-General Henry Campbell of Boquhan. 
Col. James Mure-Campbell of Lawers, Efq; 
Lieutenant- Colonel Archibald Campbell. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Campbell, late 95th regiment. 
John Campbell-Hooke, Efq; Lord Lyon King at Arms. 
Archibald Cockburn of Cockpen, Efq; fheriff-depute of Mid-- 

Lothian. 
Hay Campbell, Efq; advocate. 
Andrew Croibie, Efq; advocate. 
George Cockburn of Gleneagles, Efq; advocate. 
Walter Campbell, Efq; advocate. 
Donald Campbell, Efq; 
Archibald Campbell of Aflcamell, Efq; 
James Cathcart, Efq; 

John- William Crawfurd of Crawfordland, Efq; 
Allan Cameron of Glendelfarie, Efq; 13 Books. 
Patrick Crawfurd of Auchinames, Efq; 
James Goodlatt-Campbell of Achline, Efq; 
John Crawfurd of Doonfide, Efq; 
James Coutts, Efq; London. 



XXX SUBSCRIBERS. 



Robert Chalmers, Efq; 

Daniel Campbell of Shawfield, Efq; 2 Books, 
James Cheap of Sauchie, Efq; 

' Carruthers of Holmains, Efq; 

George Carnegie of Pitarrow, Efq; 
John Campbell of Otter, Efq; 
Captain Robert Campbell of Monzie, Efq; 
Thomas Craig of Pvicarton, Efq; 
Robert Campbell of Finab, Efq; 
James Carmichael of Hailes, Efq;, 
John Campbell of Skipnefs, Efq;,, 
Archibald Chriftie, Efq; 

Alexander Cunnyngham of Lathriefli, Efq; one of the clerks 

to the fignet. ~ 
David Campbell, Efq; one of the clerks to the fignet.. 
Dr William Cullenr phyfician in Edinbm^gh. 
Rev. Dr Carlyle minifter of Inverelk, 
Mr George Cunningham of the Cuftoms. 
Mr Lewis Can vin teacher of the French language*.. 

D 

Right Hon. the Earl of Dundonaldo 
Right Hon. the Earl of Dalhoulie./^ 
Right Hon. the Earl of Dunmore. 
Right Hon. Sir Laurence Dundas, Baronet, 2 Books. 
Right Hon. Robert Dtmdas, Efq; Lord Prefident of the Court 
of SefTion. 

Right Hon. Henry Dundas, Efq; Lord Advocate for Scotland.. 
Hon. Archibald Douglas of Douglas, Efq; 2 Books,. 
Hon. Arthur Duff, Efq; advocate. 



<5 tJ B 5> C R I B E R S 



xxxi 



LiSir William Dalrymple of Cranfhon, Baronet. 
Sir James Dunbar of Mochrum, Baronet. 
Sir Alexander Dick of Preftonfield, Baronet, 
Colonel James Douglas, 3d regiment of Guards. 
William Duff, Efq; fherifF-depute of Ayrfliire. 
David Dalrymple, Efq; advocate, 
James Dmibar of Dorn, Efq; advocate. 
John Douglas of Tilliwhilly, Efq; advocate. 
James Sholto-Douglas, Efq; advocate. 
James Dickfon, Efq; advocate. 
John Dalrymple, Efq; merchant in Edinburgh. 
Thomas Dundafs of Caftlecary, Efq; 2 Books, 
James Dundas of Dundas, Efq; 
James Dickfon of Broughton, Efq; 
Robert Drummond of Pitkellony, Efq; 
James Dewar of Vogrie, Efq; 
James Dallas of Parkly, Efq; 
William Douglas, Efq; 
George Dempfter of Dunichen, Efq; 
Charles Dalrymple of Orangefield, Efq; 
Henry Drummond, Efq; banker, London. 
David Dickfon of Kilbucho, Efq; 
William Dickfon, Efq; of Kilbucho, junior, 
William Douglas of Kellhead, Efq; 
Charles Dalrymple of North-Berwick, Efq; 2 Books, 
John Davidfon of Revelrig, Efq; 
Mr Thomas Dallas furgeon in Muffelburgli. 
Mr Archibald Dickfon nurferyman at HalTendean-burn, 
Mr John Darling gardener at Pinkie, 



xxxii SUBSCRIBERS. 



E 

Right Hon. the Earl of Errol, 2 Books. 
Right Elon. the Earl of Eglintoun, 3 Books. 
Right Hon. the Earl of Elgin. 
Right Hon. Lord Elphinfton. 
Right Hon. Lord Elibank. 

Right Hon. Sir Gilbert Elliot of Minto, Baronet. 

Elon. Lord Elliock, one of the Senators of the College of Jufcicc 

Hon. Jo. J. F. Erfldne of Mar, Efqj 

Sir Francis Elliot of Stobs, Baronet, 

Sir William Erfldne, Baronet. 

Alexander Elphifton of Glack, Efq; advocate, 

Peter Edgar of Marchfield, Efq; 

James Edmonftone of Longfaugh, Efq; 

Mr William Elliot writer in Edinburgh, 

F 

Right Hon. the Earl of Finlater, 4 Books. 
Right Hon. Lord Forbes. 
Sir Adam Fergufon of Kilkerran, Baronet, 
Sir Arthur Forbes of Craigievar, Baronet. 
William Forbes-Leith, Efq; advocate. 
John Fordyce of Ayton, Efq; 2 Books. 
William FuUerton of Lockhart-hall, Efq; 
William Finlay of Croftangry, Efq; 
James Fergufon, Efq; of Pitfour, junior. 
William Fullerton of Rofemount, Efq; 
Malcolm Fleming of Barochan, Efq; 
Richard Fiflier, Efq; 
James Forrefl of Comifton, Efq; 



SUBSCRIBERS. 



xxxiii 



John Foulis of Rofeholm, Efq; 7 Books. 

George Forbes, Efq; Bedford-ftreet, London, 

James Farquharfon of Invercal, Efq* 

Andrew Fletcher of Salton, Efq; 

Captain John Forbes of New. 

Captain Thomas FuUerton of Gallery, Efq; 

Francis Farquliarfon of Finzean, Efq; 

Thomas Forrefter of Denovan, Efq; 

John Forbes of Culloden, Efq; 

Charles Fordyce, Efq; London. 

James Geddes, Efq; 

Rev. Robert Finlay of Drummore, Efq; 

MefT. Robert and Andrew Foulis, printers to the univerfity of 
Glafgow^ 

c 

His Grace the Duke of Gordon, 2 Books, 

Right Hon. the Earl of Galloway, 2 Books. 

Right Hon. the Earl of Glafgow, 2 Books, 

Right Hon. the Earl of Glencairn. 

Right Hon. Lord Gray. 

Right Hon. Lord Glenorchy. 

Right Hon. Lord Adam Gordon, 2 Books. 

Hon. Lord Gardenfton, one of the Senators of the College of 

Juftice, 2 Books. 
Sir Thomas Gafcoigne of Parlington, Baronet. 
Sir Archibald Grant of Monymuflc, Baronet, 1 Books. 
■Sir Ludovick Grant of Grant, Baronet. 
Sir Alexander Gilmour of Craigmiller, Baronet. 
Lieutenant-General David Graem. 
Thomas Graem of Balgowan, Efq; 

e 



SUBSCRIBERS. 



Willkuii Graham of Airth, Efq; 

Graham of Workraw, Efq; 

Robert Gardhier, Elq; 
James Garthiliore of Alderfton, Efq; 
James Glen of Long-Croft, Efq; 
Captain Gilchrill of x^misfield, Efq; 
Alexander Gordon of Whiteleys, Efq; 
David Gavin of Langton, Efq; 
James Guthrie, Efq; 
Charles Gafcoigne, Efq; 
Alexander Gibfon of Durie, Efq; 

William Gordon, Efq; : . . 

John Glafsford of Dougkfton, Efq; ^ : . 

George Gray, Efq; . . -'V: 

Robert Graham of Fintry, Efq; 2 Books. 
Patrick Grscme, Efq; advocate. 

Alexander Gray, Efq; one of the clerks to the fignef. 
Mr Richard Gardner of the Cuftoms. 
Mr John Gardner of the Cuftoms. 

H 

Right Hon. the Earl of Hadinton, 2 Books. 

Right Hon. the Earl of Hopeton, 2 Books. 

Right Hon. the Earl of Home. 

Right Hon. the Earl of Hyndford. 

Right Hon. Lord Haddo. 

Pvight Hon. Lord Archibald Hamilton. 

Hon. Lord Hailes, one of the Senators of the College of Juflice. 
Lion. Charles Hope-Weir, Efq; 2 Books. 
Sir Robert Henderfon of Eordel, Baronet. 



SUBSCRIBERS. xxxv 



Sir Ai'cliibald Hope, Baronet. 
Sir John Home of Renton, Baronet. 
Sir Thomas Hay of Alderfton, Baronet. 
Alexander Hay of Drmnelzier, Efq; 
Alexander Hay of Mordington, Efq; 
Robert Hepburn of Clerkington, Efq; 
i,\lexander Home of Manderfhon, Efq;. 
James Hamilton of Bangonr, Efq; 
Alexander Hunter of Polmood, Efq; 
Hugh Hathorn of Caftlewigg, Efq; 
John Hamilton of Sundrum, Efq; 
Alexander Hamilton of Rofehall, Efq;, 
— — Hume of Gemelfhiels, Efq; 
Thomas Hog of Newlifton, Efq; 
William Hay, Efq; one of the clerks to the fignet. 
William Haggerfton-Conflable, Efq; 
William Halkerfton of Rathillet, Efq; 
Dr James Hay of Hayfton, phyfician in Edinburgh. 
Dr John Hope profeiTor of Botany in the Univerfity of Edin- 
burgh, 2 Books. 
Rev. Mr Gilbert Hamilton minifter of Cramond. 
Mr John Hunter gardener to Lord Elliock. 

I 

Right Hon. Vifcount Irwin, 2 Books-. 
Sir Adam Inglis of Cramond, Baronet. 
Alexander Innes of Cathlaw, Efq; 
Alexander Johnfhon of Stratoun, Efq; 
William Irving of Bonfliaw, Efq; 

e Z 



xxxvi 



SUBSCRIBERS. 



John Johnfton, Efq; writer in Edinburgh. 

Mr William Jamefon architecfl. 

Mr Stanley Joyce nurferyman, Newcaftle. 

Right Hon. Lord Vifconnt Kenmore. 
Right Hon. Lord Kinnaird., 

Hon. Lord Kennet, one of the Senators of the College of Ju~ 
ftice. 

' Hon. David Kennedy, Efq; advocate. 
Charles Ker of Wells, Efq; 
Alexander Keith of Revelfton, Efq; 
Captain James Kydd. 
Mr Gavin Kempt. 

Moft Hon. the Marquis of Lothian, 2 Books. 

Plight Hon. the Earl of Loudon. 

Right Hon. the Earl of Leven. 

Right Hon. the Earl of Lauderdale, 2 Books, 

Sir Andrew Lawder, Baronet. 

Sir Robert Laurie, Baronet. 

General Lockhart of Carnwath. 

Captain James Lumfdain of Invergelly, Efq;-. 

Captain Francis Lindfay. 

William-Charles Little of Libberton, Efq; ad:voeate, 

James Lockhart of Camnethen, Efq;., 

John Lamont of Lamont, Efq; 

William Lock, Efq; 

William Lennox, Efq;; 

John-Frederick Loof,.- Efq;. 



SUB SCRIBERS. 



xxxvii 



Mr John Leflic land-furveyor. 

Mr Andrew Locliie fcedfman in Kelfo. 

M 

His Grace the Duke of Montagu, 2 Books. 
His Grace the Duke of Montrofe, 2 Books, 
Right Hon. the Earl of Marchmont, 2 Books.. 
Right Hon. the Earl of Morton, 2 Books. 
Right Hon. the Earl of Moray, 
Right Hon. the Earl of Dumfries. 
Right Hon. Lord John Murray. 

Right Hon. James Montgomery, Lord Chief Baron of Ex- 
chequer, 2 Books. 
Right Hon. Thomas Miller, Lord Juftice Clerk. 
Hon. Baron John Maule. 
Hon. George Murray, Efq;- 
Sir Alexander M'Donald, Baronet. 
Sir Robert Myrton of Gogar, Baronet. 
Sir Robert Murray,. Baronet. 

Sir William Maxwell of Monreith, Baronet, 2 Books. 

Sir William Murray of Ochtertyre, Baronet. ' 

Sir William Maxwell of Springkell, Baronet.. 

Sir Harry Munro, Baronet.. 

Colonel Monypenny. 

Colonel James Mafterton. 

Archibald Menzies of Culdares, Efq; one of the Commiilioners 

of the Cuftoms. 
Alexander Murray, Efq; Sollicitor- General for Scotland. 
Alexander M'Dougal, Efq; Deputy-remembrancer of the Ex- 

chequer^ 



sxxviii SUBSCRIBERS. 



Donald M'Leod, Efq; advocate. 
William M'Kenzie, Efq; advocate, 
John M'Kenzie of Delvin, Efq; 
William Mercer of Aldie, Efq; 2 Books. 
Francis Macnab of Macnab, Efq; 
John Mill of Old Montrofe, Efq; 2 Books. 
James Milliken of Milliken, Efq; 
James Moray of Abercairny, Efq; 
William MmTay of Polmaife, Efq; 
Ronald M 'Donald of Clanronald, Elq; 2 Books, 
Donald Macdonell of Glengary, Efq; 
AVilliam Macdowall of Caftlefemple, Efq; 
Donald Macneil of Collancy, Efq; 
Alexander MmTay of Philiphangh, Efq; 
William Moncrieff of Tippermolloch, Efq; 
James Murray of Broughton, Efq; 
Charles Macdonald of Largie, Efq; 
George Monro of Poyntzfield, Efq; 
John Macdouall of Logan, Efq; 
Robert Mackenzie of Fairburn, Efq; 
john MacCulloch of Barholm, Efq; 2 Books. 
WiUiam Miller of Craigentinny, Efq; feed-merchant in Edin- 
burgh. 
Duncan Macmillan, Efq; 
Robert Murray, Efq; 
Kenneth Mackenzie, Efq; 
John M'Gowan, Efq; vmter in Edinburgh^ 
Dr James Mounfey. 
Dr John Macfarlane. 
Dr \Villiam Miller phyfician, London, 



SUBSCRIBERS. 



xxxi>: 



Mr Duncan Macdonald writer in Edinburgh. 
Mr John Murray bookfeller, Flcet-flreet, London. 
Mr Robert Macnair merchant in Glafgow. 
Mr Murdoch M'Lean merchant in Edinburgh. 
Mr George Miller brewer. 

Mr George Manderfon nurferyman at Dumfries. 

N 

Right Hon. the Earl of Northefli. 
Right Hon. Lord Napier. 

Sir James Nafmyth of Poflb, Baronet, 2 Books. 

Sir John Nifbet of Dean, Baronet. 

Sir William Nairn of Dunfinnan, Baronet, 2 Books. 

William Nelthorpe, Efq; one of the Commiflioners of the 

Cuftoms. 
William Nifbet of Dirleton, Efq; 
William Nifbet ywwzor, of Dirleton, Efq; 
Mr John Neal merchant in Edinburgh. 

O 

Right Hon. Lord Olipliant. 
Hon. Henry Oliphant, Efq; 

Lieutenant-General Sir James-Adolphus Ougliton, Baronet. 
Robert Oliphant of Rofhe, Efq; Poftmafter-General of Scot- 
land. 
Robert Ord, Efq; 

James-Townfend Ofwald of Dunnekier, Efq; 
Archibald Ogilvy of Inchmartin, Efq; 
John Orr of Barrowfield, Efq; 

Alexander Orme, Efq; one of the clerks to the fignet. 



^1 SUBSCRIBERS. 



P 

Right Hon. the Earl of Panmure. 

Sir John Paterfon of Eccles, Baronet. 

Colonel Peter Prefton. 

William Pulteney, Efq; 

Thomas Pennant of Downing, Efqj 

John Pringle of Crichton, Efq; 

John Patoun, Efq; of Inverefk. 

Boyd Porterfield of Porterfield, Efq; 

John Pringle, Efq; one of the clerks to the fignet. 

His Grace the Duke of Queenfberry and Dover, 4 Books, 

R 

Right Hon. Lord Reay. 
Right Hon. Lord Ruthven. 
Sir Alexander Ramfay of Balmain. 
Major John Rofs, 3 i ft regiment. 
David Rae, Efq; advocate. 
Archibald Roberton of Bedley, Efq; 
; John Rofs of Balnagowan, Efq; 
David Rofs of Inverhaflie, Efq; 
John Rutherfurd of Edzertoun, Efq; 
Alexander Robertfon of Straloch, Efq; 
Allan Ramfay of Kinkell, Efq; 
James Rocheid of Inverlieth, Efq; 
James Riddell of Ardnamurchan, Efq; 
Thomas Rigg of Morton, Efq; 
John Ronton of Lamexton, Efq; 



SUBSCRIBERS. xli 



Alexander Rofs, Efq; 

Walter Rofs, Efq; one of the clerks to the fignet. 

Davill Reid, Efq; Infpedor-general of out-ports, 2 Books. 

Dr James RufTell, profefTor of Natural Philofophy in the unlver- 

fity of Edmburgh. 
Dr John Roebuck. 

Dr Robert Ramfay phyfician in Edinburgh. 
Mr Robert Robinfon architedl. 
Mr Charles Renton land-furveyor. 

Mr John Richmond and Company, nurferymen, Edinburgh. 
Mr Charles Rofs at Greenlaw, nurferyman. 
Mr George Roy gardener, 2 Books. 

S: 

Right Hon. the Earl of Seafortho 
Right Hon. Lord Vifcount Stormont, , 
Right Hon^ Lord Somerville, 
Hon. Keith Stuart, Efq; ' . 

Sir John Sinclair of Murkle, Baronet. 
Sir John Stuart of Allanbank, Baronet. 
Major-General John Scott. 

Colonel Robert Skene, Adjutant-General of his Majefty's forces 

in Scotland. 
Captain Archibald Swinton. 
John Swinton of Swinton, Efq; advocate, 
James Stuart-Fleming, Efq; advocate. 
Robert Scott of Dunnenald, Efq; 
Hugh Seton of Touch, Efq; 
Charles Scott of Bavela-w, Efq; . 
— — Sharp of Holden, Efq; 



xtii S IT B S C R I B E R Si 



' Stewart of Shambelly, Efq; 

John Spottifwood of Spottifwood, Efq; 

James Sutherland-Murray of Clyne, Efq;; 

James St Clau' of Dyfart, Efq; 

Alexander Stuart of Blantyre, Efq;. 

William St Clair of Roflin, Efq; 

David Scott of Scotftarvet, Efq;: 

David Smyth of Methven, Efq;, 

Alexander SherrifF of Craigleith, Efq; 

Jamts Stewart, Efqj merchant in Edinburgh, 

James Small, Efq;: 

Gideon Schaw, Efq; 

Andrew Stevenfon, Efq;. 

Jolm Shaw-Stev^art, Efq;. 

Andj-ew St Clair, Efq; 

Alexander Scrymgeour, Efq; 

Jacob Sandilands, Efq; 

John Spottifwood, Efq; London. 

Mr William Sutherland writer in Edinburgh. 

Mr William Shiells feedfman at Dalkeith. . 

- T' 
Mofl Hon. the Marquis of Tweeddale. 
Captain Alexander Turnbull, 3 2d regiment. 
John Thomfon, Efq; Secretary to the Board of Excife. 
Alexander Telfer of Kimergham, Efqj 
Jofeph Tudor, Efq; 
Richard Thornton, Efq;. 
Mr Archibald Telfer. 

Mr John A^eitch. 



SUBSCRIBERS. xliii 



U 

Alexander Udny, Efq; one of the Commiffioners of Excife. 

Hon. James Wemyfs of Wemyfs, Efq; 

Hon. Baron George Winn. 

Sir John Whitefoord, Baronet. 

Sir Thomas Wallace of Craigie, Baronet, 

Sir John Wedderburn, Baronet. 

Colonel Sir John Warrender, Baronet, 2 Books. 

John Weft, Efq; one of the Commiffioners of the Cuftoms. 

Thomas Wharton, Efq; one of the Commiffioners of Excife. 

William Wallace, Efq; advocate. 

Jofeph Williamfon, Efq; advocate. 

William Wilfon of Houdon, Efq; 

Andrew Wauchope of Niddrie, Efq; 

John Wauchope of Edmonfton, Efq; 

James Watfon of Saughton, Efq; 

Robert Waddell, Efq; 

William Wood, Efq; 

George Warrender, Efq; 

Mr Thomas Whyte of Primrofe-Barns. 

Mr William Whyte bookfeller in Kirkcaldy, 1 2 Books, 

Mr Robert Whyte feedfinan. 

Meffi Williamfon and Company, nurferymen, London, 
Mr William Wright nurferyman at Leith. 

Y 

Dr Thomas Young phyfician in Edinburgh. 

f 3 



XREAXISE 



O N 

-O R E S T « T R E E S. 



CONTENTS. 

DECIDUOUS TREES, ivith their different Species. 
Chap. Page. 



I. The Elm Tree, - - 


I 


II. The Beech Tree, ,- - 


21 


III. The Platanus, or Plane Tree, 


- 25 


IV. The Maple Tree, 


29 


V. The Oak Tree, 


34 


VI. The Ash Tree, 


45 


VII. The Lime Tree, 


51 


VIII. The Hornbeam Tree, 


56 


IX. The Walnut Tree, 


59 


X. The Chesnut Tree, 


66 


XI. The Horse-Ch esnut Tree, 


73 


XII. The Larix, or Larch Tree, 


76 


XIII. The Virginian Tulip Tree, 


84 


XIV. The Acacia Tree, 


89 



XV. The Wild Cherry Tree, m England tj/- 

led the Black Cherry, in Scotland the Geen Tree. 92 
— This chapter alfo contains the Bird Cherry, 



in Scotland called the Hagberry, - 96 

XVI. The Poplar Tree, - - 97 

XVII. The Lote,- or Nettle Trf.e, - - 104 

XVin. The Laburnum, or Bean-Trefo i l, - 108 

XIX. Alder Tree, - - iil 

XX. The Birch Tree, - - 112 

XXI. r/?^ Service Tree, - - 115 

XXII. The Judas Tree, - - - 118 
XXm. The Elder Tree, - - - 124 
XXLV. The Tacamahaca Tree,. - - 126 



xWiil CONTENTS, 



E V E R G R E E N S, -with their different - Species. 



€hap. Page. 

XXV. 7^e Pine Tree,. - - 128 

XXVI. The Fir Tree, - - - 14.1 
XXVII, The Gedar Tree, - , - 149 

XXVIII. The Cypress Tree, - - 159 



XXIX. The Arbor Vitse, or Tree of Life, - 164 

XXX. The Ilex, or Evergreen Oak Tree,.. 168 
XXXI. The Cork Tree., - - 174 

XXXII. The Holly Tree, - - 178 

XXXIII. The Yew Tree,, - > 188 

XXXIV. T^je Laurel, or Cherry Bay Tr'ee, - igz 

XXXV. The Bay Tree, - -• 197 

XXXVI. The Arbutus, or Strawberry Tree, - 202 

XXX VII. Thorns, — their culture from the feed^ till they 

arrive to the Jize of becoming fencihle Hedges 

at tranfplanting^ - - - 207 

XXXVIII. On the propagation of Tket^s Layers, - 232 
XXXIX. On Grafting and Inoculation, - 235 

XL. On Forests or W00D&, and the mofl fpeedy 

manner of rearing them^ - - 243 

XLI. 0?z making Trees fit for removal, that have 
food uncultivated, and too thick, in Nurferies 

or Woods^. =»• 256. 



A 



TREATISE 

O N 

FOREST-TREES. 

€ H A P T E R I. 

The elm TREE, 

The Species are : 

1. The fmall-leav'd or tme English Elm; 

2. The English Elm with large rough leaves ; 

3. The French Elm ; 

4. The rough-bark'd Dutch Elm; 

5. The Cornish Elm; 

6. The Red Elm from Canada; 

'The Scots Elm m England, call'd the Witch Elm ; 
The English Elm with ftrip'd leaves, 

EI E five forts firft mentioned are propagated by layers or 
fuckers, the former of which is by much the better me- 
thod, as the trees, fo raifed, will, in their firft ftages, advance 
more in growth, and make handfomer plants than theie taken 
from the roots of old trees ; neither will they fo foon, or in fo 
great a number, produce fuckers, which retards the growth 
of the tree. I fhall therefore firft defcribe the manner of railing 

A 




TREATISE ON 



thofe kinds in that way, and proceed to the befl methods of 
their culture, from the mother, till they arrive to the height of 
thirty feet or upwards. 

Having prepared a fpot of ground, neither too light and 
thin, nor too moift and, heavy, but frefli and mellow, that h<as 
been well trenched the preceding year, and all root-weeds and 
ftones carefully pick'd out of it, and that has been a year or two, 
employed in leafy kitchen-garden crops, dig it well, and level it in 
the beginning of October : Then, if you have them not yourfelf, 
procure from a nurferyman your ftools, or mother-plants ; let 
thefe, if. you can get fuch, be trees that have been cut over clofe 
by the ground two years preceding, but that have not yet been 
layed; cut all their branches over again, two or three inches a- 
bove the lafl cutting, from which they will produce a great 
number of clean young flioots the following filmmer ; plant 
thefe at about eight feet afunder in the Quincunx order, which 
will fill the ground more equally than by planting them in 
fquares ; then give them a gentle watering, to fettle the earth a- 
bout their roots. 

If you cannot procm'e fnch a.s have been cut over vv4th a view- 
to making mother-plants of them, chufe from the nurfery found 
vigorous trees, of about fix or feven years growth ; and if they 
have been two or three times tranfplanted, they will be fo much 
the better, as, by having abundance of roots, they will produce 
plenty of firong fojincl branches : Cut them over flanting, eigh- 
teen inches or two feet above ground ; then make a trench long 
enough to receive them lying on their fide, floping fo as the 
root may be covered, fix or feven inches, and three or four inr 



FOR E S T - T 11 E E S. 



dies of the top appear above the furface ; place the Vv'ouncled 
part, which ought to be cut very clean and fmooth, downwards, 
to prevent being injured by the winter rains ; plant them at the 
fame diftances, Vx'^atering them as the former, keep them dili- 
gently clear of weeds, frequently flirring and loofening the earth 
about them, fo as to receive the full benefit of the fummer rains 
and dews. If the ground is of a good quality, and the feafon 
favourable, many of them will be fit to lay the follov/ing Odlo- 
ber ; and fiich flioots as are too weak for laying then, being a- 
gain cut over, will produce enough to furnilh the ground with 
a full crop of layers the fucceeding autumn. 

As early in Ocftober as the weather will permit, begin laying 
your Elms, giving them a gentle watering, which, in dry weather, 
Hiould be frequently repeated during the fummer months ; the 
expence whereof will be well repaid by the number of roots and 
ftrength of your layers. The different methods of perform- 
ing this operation on ail the trees here treated of, will be 
defcribed in a chapter by itfelf, to avoid repetitions. 

The following Odlober, if the branches have been fkilfally 
laid, and the ground managed as diredied, mofl of the layers 
will be fufiiciently rooted ; when, having prepared a fpot of 
good mellow ground, as for the ftools, carefully uncover the 
plants, whofe fibres are at this time extremely tender ; raifethem 
gently up with the fpade, and with a fliarp knife cut them off at 
the extremity of their roots, and fuch of them as have not pufli- 
ed out fibres at the joint where they were laid, but are what the 
gardeners call chib-rooted^ fhould be thrown ax^-ay, as thefe will 
never make good plants, or refill the winds : Having feparated 

A 2 



TREATISE. ON 



them from their mothers, trim away only the fmall hairy fibres, 
that are bruifed and broken, which are apt to mould, and en- 
danger the tree ; but be very fparing of what is frefli and found, 
Ihortening them and the principal roots moderately, tho' many 
fafhionable gardeners make a little too free in this point, by cut-, 
ting moft of them away, endeavouring to Ihow their addrefs, by 
making trees grow without them ; keep them as little time as 
pofTible out of the ground ; cut them over about a foot in height, 
and plant them in lines three feet afunder, and eighteen inches 
diftance in the line : Here let them remain two feafons, when 
they fliould again be cut over, in the beginning of March, within, 
two or three inches of the furface : By this time the plants will 
be well rooted, and, the fucceeding fummer, in a good foil and 
temperate feafon, they will produce ftraight clean flioots, four 
and five feet high. In March following, prune away all ftrong 
lateral and ill-placed branches clofe to the ftem, but leave feve- 
ral of the fmaller Ihoots, more or lefs as the plants are thick or 
flender bodied, to detain the fap, and augment the trunk of the 
tree ; the not obferving which, is. one great caufe of feeing fo 
many trees growing, without proportion, to great heights, with 
flender bodies and heavy tops, unable to fupport themfelves, but 
bending almoft to the ground with every guft of wind, from 
which, of'courfe, they never can arrive to magnitude or beauty.. 
Here thefe trees may remain another year, when, if they are in- 
tended to be made fit for tranfplanting at large fizes, they mufl; 
be removed to another nurfery, and planted at greater diftances : . 
But before I proceed to that, I, fliall direcfl their culture from 
fuckers, and of the Scots Elm from feed, till they are fit to be 
treated in the fame manner as thofe, and when the fame ma-- 
nagement v/ill anfwer all the kinds. It may here be neceffary 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 



S 



to obferve, after having cut over your Elms, or indeed any o- 
^ ther tree, that, as foon as the young flioots appear, you {hould 
rub off all but the moft promihng one, which will much advance 
the growth of it. 

Being provided with fuckers grub'd up from the roots of old 
trees, in the fpring, when the fap begins to rife, which for them 
is preferable to the autumn, cut off all the bruifed and broken 
roots, and trim their tops to about fix or eight inches high ; lay 
them in drills cut out with the fpade, eighteen inches line from 
line, and eight or nine inches in the line; give them a gentle 
watering, and keep the ground clean and loofe about them : Ha- 
ving flood here one year, cut them over by the ground, and let 
them remain another, vv^hen they ought to be raifed and planted . 
in a feparate nurfery, at double the former diftances. Such of 
them as have made fhrong fhoots, and thick in proportion to their 
height, may be planted at full length ; but fuch as are dvv'arfifli 
and ill-formed, or tall and flender, muft be fliortened again, 
more or lefs as they have good or bad roo-ts ; thofe with good, 
roots lefs reduced in their height than the others, which ought 
to be an invariable rule in the pruning all forts of Foreft-Trees 
In this fituation, let them remain two, but not exceeding three- 
years, managing them in all refpedls as the layers. 

The Canada Elm having been lately imported to Britain, they 
are not yet arrived to any magnitude v/ith us, but- in their native 
country they grov/ to a vafh fize. I have only cultivated them 
for three years paft, during which time they have exceeded all 
the different fpecies of Elms in growth confiderably, and there is 
e,very probable appearance they will foon bccdme flately trees, in.. 



6 



TREATISE 



tins climate. I have incrcafL^d tlicni from layers with cafe, and 
they root inoz'e abundantly that way than the Englilh Elm. I 
have alfo grafted them on Englifli, Scots, and Dutch ftocks, flic- 
cefsfully ; and the niofb vigorous Ihoots have been from the 
Dutch, though thefe on the Englilh icem to have a more elegant 
form : Their leaves are braade-r than thofe of the Scots or Dutch 
Elm, but fmoother, and of a much more lively green ; from 
which clrcumflances, they feem to claim our encouragement. 
Thefe trees produce plenty of feeds in Canada, from vdience 
they may eafily be procured ; but from the length of the voyage, 
and the delicacy of .the feeds, they feldom arrive frefli in Britain: 
Therefore,, the readieft way to cultivate them here, is from layers, 
or by grafting them ; and fuch plants will perhaps be hardier 
than thofe raifed from foreign feeds. 

The Scots Elm maybe propagated to the fame advantage as 
the other forts, by layers, and will produce abundance of roots 
with greater facility, and in courfer land, than the Englilh ; but 
as they generally yield plenty of feeds annually, which are 
calily obtained, and which is much the cheapeft way of railing 
large quantities of them, I fhall diredl their culture in that 
way. 

The feeds of this tree commonly ripen from the beginning 
till the middle of June, as the feafon is more or lefs forward : It 
is eafy to difcover their ripenefs by the huflc being full and firm, 
inclining to a tawny brown colour. Thefe feeds mufl: be atten- 
tively look'd after, as they approach to maturity ; for when they 
are fully ripe, a blaft of wind, or heavy rain, will drive them all 
off the trees in a day'stime, as I have often experienced; and as 



forest-trees: 



7 



the feeds are very fmall, it will be difficult to gatlicr any quantity 
of them, and indeed impoffible if amongft grafs, or where there 
is not a clean furface ; but having watched the proper time, and 
feleded the faireft and ftraighteil trees, the beft method of ^ra- 
thering them, is to make a man mount the tree, fpreading a mat 
or canvafs under it, when, gently fhaking the branches, the ripe 
feeds will eafdy part witli them and drop down. By this practice, 
you vxrill have nothing but the moft generous fully ripened feeds, 
a circumftance of no mean confideration in your future planta- 
tions ; whereas, in the common way of fweeping the feeds from 
the ground, there is always a great deal of chaff, with many weak 
unrlpened feeds... 

The common practice is to fow thefe feeds a few days after 
gathering them, by which means a number of them wHll rife in 
four or five weeks; but thefe coming up at the hotteft time of 
the year, and not having fummer enough to make them ftrong 
plants before the hard weather comes on, are commonly fpewed 
out of the ground the fucceeding winter ; or if that fllould be 
uncommonly mild, and they ftand it out, yet fuch will be w^eak 
ftunted plants, and hardly ever make free growing handfome 
trees; and though the bulk of the feeds will not appear till the 
following fpring, yet, from the ground being hard and battered 
with the winter rains, they w411 make poor Ihoots, compared to 
f\ich as are fown on frefh well-prepared land in the fpring: It is 
therefore better management, and you will fooner come to your 
purpofe, to raife vigorous healthful plants of thefe, or any other 
kinds, in a proper way, than ilruggle with the recovery of wdiat 
have been originally flarved and ftunted. For thefe reafbns, I Ihall 
pay no_ regard to common rules, however prevailing, furthGr 



8 TREATISE on 

than I have found them fuccefsful, but defcribe the methods of 
culture experience and obfervation has taught me are beft, and 
by which I have raifed great quantities of this valuable tree to a 
furprifing fize in a few years. 

As foon as the feeds are gathered, fpread them on a canvafs in 
the open air, but not expofed to a warm fun, which would dry 
them too flift, and extracSl their vegetative juices ; turn them over 
frequently, feparating the clufters, into which, from their moi- 
ilure, they are apt to gather and grow mufty ; let them be placed 
under cover in the night-time, to prGte(5l them from the rains and 
dev/s, which muft be continued longer or fliorter as the weather 
is temperate and clear, or damp and cloudy, but in general they 
will require ten or twelve days feafonable weather to make them 
dry enough to keep : After this, they iliould be put in bags, but 
not hard prelfed in them, and carried to the feed-loft, where they 
may remain five or fix weeks, by which time they will be tho- 
roughly dry and firm, without having loft any of their virtue ; 
3.nd the feafon of vegetation being almoft over, they will be in 
no danger of fpringing that year. From the feed-loft let them 
be removed to any covered fhady place in the nurfery, and mix- 
ed vfith one- third part fine fand to two- thirds of the feeds, co- 
vering them three or four inches thick with more fand or fine 
loofe fifted earth, to prevent being injured by the frofts ; and in 
this fituation let them remain till February following. 

About the i 2th of this month, or as foon after as the v/eather 
will permit, prepare , a fpot of loofe rich garden earth, made per- 
fectly -clean of root-weeds, and finely raked : Divide this land in 
beds three and a half feet v/ide, with alleys eighteen inches : 



FOREST - T REES. 9 

Thruft off a little of the earth with the head of the rake, as is 
pradtifed in fowing onions, and other fmall kitchen crops ; then 
fow the feeds moderately thin, (thick fowing being an almoft 
univerfal thovigh capital error in this and moft kinds of tree- 
feeds) ; clap the feeds with the back of the fpade gently into the 
ground, which will give a fmooth level furface, and make it ca- 
ly to cover them of an equal thicknefs ; then draw on the earth 
that has been thruft back, and throw a little more from the 
alleys, till they are covered half an inch thick, but not more, 
deep covering, being alfo another general error. 

By the beginning of April, the feeds will appear above ground'; 
after which time, when the weather is dry, and not froily, they 
ought to be refrefhed with frequeat but very gentle waterings, 
either in the evenings, or eiiriy in the mornings, and carefully 
kept clear of weeds, which otherways would deftroy many plants, 
and much impede the growth of the remainder, . 

If the feeds have been fown in a good well^prepared foil, and 
the feafon has been favourable, they ought ail to be raifed the 
following fpring ; but if the ground is poor, and of courfe the 
plants fmall, they may ftand another year; in which event, it 
will be proper to draw the largeft from amongft them, which 
otherways, the fucceeding fummer, would prevent the fmall ones 
from having air and moifture, and confequently rob the greateft 
part of their proper nourifhment-. 

The feparation of the larger from the fmaller plants, in all- 
kinds of nurfery, though not generally attended to, is of great 
confequence, both in point of ufe and beauty, as, from this prac- 



lo TREATISE on 

tice, the trees nearly keep pace with one another in fize, bu't 
which not obferved, many are fmothered or Hunted by being 
overhung, to the great injury and deformity of the nurfery; and 
indeed this rule ought to be extended, not only to nurferies, but 
more particularly to fuch trees as are planted out where they are 
to remain. 

These plants having been carefully raifed from the feminary 
v/lth all their fibres, fliorten their top-roots, and commit them 
to the nurfery, the well-grown in 06tober, but the fmaller not 
till February, left the winter's frofl fpew them out of the 
ground : Plant the largeii in rows two and a half feet afimder, 
and a foot diftance in the row, where they may remain two 
years ; but let the fmalier be laid in beds one foot row from row, 
and about fix inches in the row, to Hand one year only, when 
they may be treated as the larger feedlings, and like them ftand 
two years longer. * 

The Englilh Elm with flrip'd leaves, may be grafted on any 
of the Elms, though on the plain Englifli they make the hand- 
fomefl plants ; but in order to preferve their orig;inal variegation, 
they ought to be planted on a poor light foil, as in deep rich 
ground they lofe much of that beauty, and fometimes turn quite 
plain, though the moft efFe6lual method I have ever found for 
preferving the colours of this and many other ftrip'd plants, is 
to propagate them from l^iiyers of trees that are richeft in the va-. 
negation, and which will continue fo much better than fuch as 
have been grafted on plain ftocks. 

Besides the common methods of ral'iing Elms from layers, 
fuckers and feeds, there are many propagated, by grafting and 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 



inoculating the Englifli kind on Scots flocks. For certain foils and 
fituations, this is a very great improvement ; but where that is 
not judicioufly coniidered, and the genius of the land where they 
are planted out for good confulted, it may have an oppofite ef- 
fect : I fhall therefore (having tried many experiments on tlii.^ 
favourite tree) be particyilar in mentioning the advantages, or 
otherways, of propagating the EnglifliElm by grafting, adapting 
the (locks on which they are grafted to the foils where they 
ought to be planted, and the improvements in profit and beau- 
ty that may he obtained from this practice. 

Where the foil is dry, found, and generous, and the climate 
good, there is no fpecies of the Elm yet familiar to us, equal in 
beauty to the true fmall-leav'd Englilh, from layers of its own 
kind ; nor has it any fault, but being fliy to root (when unfldl- 
fully laid), and in fbormy fituations reclining from the wind ; but, 
by the prefent fyftem of cultivation, that defecl will be intirely 
cured, and it will root as abundantly as the Scots Elm, or any 
other tree, and refill the moil impetuous winds equally vv'-ell. 

Next to the true Englifh, I elleem the Cornifh Elm as the 
fineft tree of the kind, both for loftinefs of growth, elegance of 
form, and the lively chearful verdure of its leaves. 

The Englifli Elm grafted on the Scots makes both a beautiful 
and valuable tree, yet it is ftill inferior in regularity of form, anci 
l«ftinefs of ftature, to thofe raifed from their own mother ; and 
as every tree mull in fome meafure partake of the ftock on which 
it is grafted, fo this has a near refemblance of the Scots Elm in 
its bark even when young, and when old, like them, grows more 

B. 2 



12 TREATISE ON 

loofe, fpreading, and lefs eredl than the true Englifli, though, 
when young, they are extremely beautifuL 

Where the land is tolerably deep, though coarfe, and inclined 
to clay or till, thofe on Scots ftocks will fucceed better than the 
Englilli on its own bottom; but where the ground is thin and 
hungry, it is in vain to plant them. 

On moifl, heavy, coarfe, and even wet lands, that have any 
competent degree of ftrength, plant the rough Dutch Elm ; and 
in fach fituations, I have even raifed goodly thriving plantations 
of the Engiifh, grafted on ftocks of them, which makes a fairer 
tree than thofe on the Scots flock, and has a nearer refemblance 
of the true Englifli, as the Dutch Elm itfelf has. At the fame 
time, though this plant mofl generally affe<5ls a deep foil, I have 
feen many flately thriving trees of them on burning fand and 
graveL 

The French Elm afFe<fls a deep rich moift earth, 'where they 
will make amazing progrefs, and become beautiful trees. In 
fuch a fituation, if the Engiifh Elm is chofen, graft them on 
ftocks of the French, which makes the fineft plants of the whole 
tribe, the Englifli on its own bottom only excepted, and which 
has no competitor, when fuited to its proper foil. 

The French Elm may alfo be much improved, by grafting it 
on the Englifli, when required to be planted on fuch foil as is 
direfled for that plant. 

Here it may be neceffary to obferve a pradlice extremely 
common amongft ignorant nurferymen, which is, cutting theii' 



O R E S T - T R E E S. 



Snglilli Elm graft? from thofe on Scots {locks, and which indeed 
have the faireft and plumpeft buds, (a plain indication from 
whence they immediately proceed, th'e buds of the Scots being 
larger and more turgid than thofe of the Englifh) but thefe 
gentlemen either do not regard the quality of the plants they 
fell, fo they are paid for them, ^or are ignorant, that, by repeat- 
ing this pradice, the Englifh Elm may be brought fo far to dege- 
nerate, as, in many graftings this way, to differ very little from 
the Scots ; therefore, whatever kind the flocks are on which you 
graft the Englifli, let the grafts be taken from trees of the true 
kind, raifed by layers of their own mother. This, however 
little attended to, nature plainly didlates. 

It inay alfo be proper to notice here, that all Elms planted in 
gardens, and by the fides of walks, lawns, or avenues, ought to 
be on Scots ftocks, as thefe produce no fuckers, which the Eng- 
lifh, French, and Dutch, do in fuch quantities, as to make it 
very troublefome and expenfive keeping fuch places clear of them, 
and in good order. 

I AM well aware that the ignorant part of my profefHon (but 
who I hope are not the majority) will fay, here is a great deal of 
time, land, and labour loft, in cutting over tx'ees before ready 
to fell and make money of, or at any rate -which might have re- 
mained as they were till larger and higher priced. According to 
comrtion pradlice, where ignorance and diflionefty go hand in 
hand, it will be difficult to convince fuch men of their real inte- 
reft, which they perhaps believe confifts in getting money by 
whatever means as faft as they can. Such will not eafily relin- 
quifh their former ill-habits, or refled, that a perfon of tafte and 



14 TREATISE on 

knowledge in gardening will reward their patience and induftry^. 
by readily paying a higher price for a handfome vigorous plant j_ 
than for an unlhapely ftunted one : To fiich therefore I do not 
mean to addrefs myfelf, but thofe of more ingenuous and libe- 
ral views, r will boldly affirm, that though a. little more land 
and labour is bellowed, there is in the end no time loft, but much 
time faved by this operation, as, in four or five years, thefe cut 
over will be confiderably larger than the others, with this fur-< 
ther defirable circumftance, that, in place of being ragged, un- 
fightly, and ill-rooted, they will be ftraight and clean-ikin'd, with 
a much greater abundance of roots. In fhort, cutting over efta- 
bliihes the plants, by diverting the fap to the roots, frees them 
from the injury and concuffions of the winds, and makes them 
produce handfome and generous fhoots, infinitely preferable to 
fuch as are abandoned to nature and accident without this difci- 
pline; and when feafonably pradlifed, nothing will fo much ac- 
celerate the fuccefs of plantations for many years. 

Thus having diredled the beft methods of treating thefe plants 
in their early ftages, and which indeed is all the culture com- 
monly beftowed on them, for whatever purpofes they are defign- 
ed, or at whatever fizes to be removed, I proceed to their manage- 
ment for a fuccefiion of years, with a view ta their being tranf- 
planted when large trees, and which, by obferving the rules 
here laid down, they may be, with the moft certain fuccefs, to , 
any fize, capable of being raifed and tranfported. ^ 

These trees, if planted in a good foil, having now arrived to 
the height of fix or feven feet, the fame pra(5lice will anfwer for . 
all . the forts of Elms.,. 



r 0 R E S T - T R E E S. 15 

Your ground being prepared by a good digging, which on 
this occafion I j^refer to trenching, (as deep loofe foil would in- 
vite the roots downward, whereas the prefent fyftcm requires 
their fpreading as much as poffible near the furfacc), raife 
your plants carefully, with all their roots and herby fibres ; re- 
duce the downright roots confiderably, but only fmooth with a 
a fharp knife the extremities of the fpreading ones, and what- 
ever earth adherds to the fibres, if the difhance is fmall to their 
new quarters, fliould be preferved, cutting away only fome of the 
amalleft ftraggling hairy parts ; for roots are the mouths that 
fuck in the nouriflmient, and transfufe it to all the parts of the 
tree. The roots thus prepared, prune away, clofe to the body, 
all ill-placed ftraggling branches, leaving only a few of the fmall- 
eft, to detain (as has been faid) the fap, and fwell the trunk of 
the tree : Plant them in lines four feet afimder, and eighteen 
inches in the line ; let them be watered, to fettle the earth about 
their roots, and in this fituation they ought to remain two years 
=only. 

Fr o M this nurfery remove them to another, drefling their roots 
and bodies as at laft removal ; and plant them in lines five feet 
afunder, and two feet in the line, Avhere they may remain three 
years. 

Let them be again removed, and planted in lines eight feet 
afunder, and fix feet in the line, in which fituation continue 
them four years ; let thefe have a plentiful watering, and ob- 
ferve that the waterings be increafed in proportion to the age 
and fize of the trees. 



i6 TREATISE om 



The ground between the lines, from firft to laft, ought to Be 
well dug every fpring and autumn, which will much increafe. 
the number, and promote the fpreading of the roots, and of 
courfe the growth of tlie plants.. 

The trees -being now twelve years ofd, and in good land, will: 
be from twenty to twenty-four feet high, and may either be 
planted out where they are, to remain for good, or again remo- 
ved to the fields, or any fpot of ^ood land moil convenient, and 
planted at leafl ten feet afunder, to be ready for whatever defign 
may be in view, or afterwards occur ; whence, any time from . 
three to feven or eight years, they may not only be removed with 
undoubted fuccefs, but with fuch abundance of earth adhering 
to them, and fuch ftrength and proportion of body, as to defy 
the rudeft affaults of the winds, even at firft planting, without 
flacking or any other fupport; which, though an almofl imiver- 
fal practice, is, notvs^ithftanding, the refult of ignorance, and is 
only necefTary to fupport the defedl of good culture, by proping^ 
trees that have been injudicioufly managed, as none of the 
ftraight growing pyramidal trees (the deciduous kinds more par- 
ticularly) have the leaft want of that aid, if the dire<5lions here, 
ffiven are attended to. 

Every gardener, of the fmalleft obfervation, muft be fenlible, , 
that the rotting of the wounded parts of old trees is the moPc 
general caufe of their death; but from this prafbice no violence: 
is committed, no amputation made, bvit on the young and ten- 
der roots and branches, which immediately heal ; from whence 
nature points out, that this procefs may be continued (parti- 
c-ularly with the Elm) while it continues frefh and vigorous, . 
witho.ut retarding its grovv^th in any material degree^. 



TORE S T - T R E E S. 17 



"That I have been very liberal, if not extravagant, in ground, 
Ijy the diftances allowed the plants, and that few nurferymen 
'have fuch an extent of it as to proceed deeply in this plan, is a 
refleaion I am fatisfied will be made by numbers ; though, 
that I have not exceeded a proper bounds, long experience has 
convinced me, and will others who make the experiment as 
fairly as I have done : But if my aflertion fliould not be thought 
fufhcient without another reafon, I fliall give one that I hope 
will convince all, and that, by making proper ufe of the vacancies, 
the prefent fyftem may turn out even frugal. The trees, 
till they are fix or feven feet high, are allowed no greater diflance 
than every honeft and ingenious nurferyman will admit to be a 
proper medium ; after which, from the increafed diftances, 
the plants being annually pruned as they ought, the ground may 
be crop'd with Turnips, Onions, Leek, Carrot, Beans, Cabbage,- 
Colly flower, and a variety of other garden herbs, without the fmall- 
eft injury to the trees, or the herbs receiving any injury from 
them ; particularly the early crops, from which I have frequent- 
ly had profitable returns : Early turnips particularly, and 
other tender roots and greens, in fevere fprings, when they have 
been totally cut off in the open quarters of the garden, between 
the lines of trees, from the fhelter they afford, I have often found 
fucceed 5 from which circumftance it is demonftrable, that 
trees planted at confiderable diftances, and their fuperfluous 
branches regularly pruned off, may be cultivated at a moderate 
expence. With refpe(5l to nurferymen who have fmall portions 
of land, by adhering to the pra6lice here directed, they may in- 
large their bounds at a fmall expence, as the annual returns 
from the kitchen crops amongft the trees, if well cultivated, vail 
go far to pay both the ground rent and labour. 

G 



i8 TREATISE on 

If the land is thin cand hungry, or a cold tilly clay,, on which 
you intend to plant the Englifli Elm, the common method of 
making pits for them, is loft time and money. In fut:h foils the 
Dutch only will fucceed, where it is amazing with how many 
difficulties it will ftruggle, and foon become a large tree. But 
in thefe unfriendly fituations, the Englifli muil be courted^ 
(as well it deferves) todifplay its beauty. 

To effe^ this, I know but one certain method, which is, to-, 
plant on the furface, or as much above, it as you can afford foil, 
and raife mounds of good earth, fufficient to cover- the roots and 
eftablifli the tree ; which, being thus fed, till it acquire its for- 
mer ftrength and hardinefs, will afterwards put up with coarfer 
fare, Befides, the trees thus propagated, will not incline to- run 
downwards, as thofe planted young ever do, but will fpread 
their roots near the furface, v^ithin the influences of the fun 
and rains, and pick up all the good nourifliment the place af- 
fords. This elevation of the trees, in parks, clumps, or lawns, 
has likewife a very agreeable efled;, ^ 

Tho' I have mentioned particular waterings, it may not be a- 
mifs, in general, to obferve, that all large trees muft be watered, 
at tranfplanting : If in 06lober, once gently will do till' fpring ; 
from which time, it fliouldbe continued till Auguft every month, 
at leaft in dry weather, or rather when it does not rain plenti- 
fully ; but thofe planted in the fpring, will require bpth more 
frequent and abundant waterings than the former. I would not 
hpvv^ever have it underftood, that the diredlions given for large 
proportions of water to thofe old trees, fliould bepradlifed on the 
younger ; to them it fliouId be given frequently indeed, but very 



F O R E S T - T H E E S. 19 

igcntly, as over-watering moft kinds of young trees, is generally 
imore deftrudlive, than giving them none at all : Let it alfo be 
an eftablifhed principle, that, from having begun to water feed- 
lings, or other fmall and delicate plants, you regularly continue 
it as the weather requires, otherwife you'll do more harm than 
good, 

I SHALL fay no more on the culture of this noble, beautiful, 
and ufeful tree, than that it well deferves oiu' utmoft care and at- 
tention to bring it to perfection, for which it will. amply repay us, 
both in pleafure and profit; therefore, I again recommend, that, 
at all the fundry removals, but particularly the latter, the utmoft 
•care be taken to preferve as much of the old earth as poflible to 
the roots, which will much accelerate their pufliing out frefli 
ones immediately ; for this earth being already applied, and fit- 
ted to the mouths of the fibres, if divefted of it, it will require 
fome time to bring them in appetite again to a new mould, to 
repair their lofs, furnilh their ftock, and proceed in their wont- 
ed oeconomy without danger and interruption. 

1 HAVE often been furprifed, that fome authors of deferved re~ 
putation, mention the French and Dutch Elm as trees of neither 
ufe nor beauty ; and I can account for it in no other wav, than 
their having miftaken fome other fpecies of thefe trees for the 
true French and Dutch Elm. Having made thefe obfervations 
early in life, the Elm being ever a favourite tree with me, I was 
determined to be fatisfied in this point, and the mofl likely way 
to be fo, I thought, was to have them from France and Holland. 
This I did, and brought the French Elm from Paris, and the 
Dutch from Rotterdam, which were the mother-plants of all 

C 2 



20. TREATISE a 

I have ever fince raifed of thefe kinds. The French Elm, planted 
in fuch foil as has been here dired:ed for it, I think a beautiful 
tree ; it grows faft, and the wood, though not quite fo hard as 
that of the Englifh and Scots, is yet a valuable timber, and not 
much inferior to them. The Dutch Elm, tho' inferior in beauty 
and elegance of form to that, is, notwithftanding, a very va- - 
luable tree, and, in this climate, and much of the foil of Scot- 
land, ought to be highly cheriflied, and become a common plant : 
amongft us, as it will fucceed in wet obftinate clay, where no tree 
I know of equal ufe, and few but aquaticks, will grow freely, 
but in fuch places it will foon become a ftately tree; and though 
the wood is not equal to the other mentioned kinds, it is ftill 
a ufeful wood, and is often indifcriminately fold to the carpenter 
with them, from their near refemblance. 

In Scotland, the dealers in, and manufadlurers of timber, are 
partial, or ignorant with regard to the Scots Elm, believing it 
better. wood than the Englifli: But this, to my experience, is by 
no means the cafe; for having cut down many of thefe trees, I 
have frequently weighed a cubic foot of the one and the other, 
cut at the fame time, and ahvays found the Englifh the clofTeft 
and moft ponderous. 

I HAVE fold Englifh Elms of my own railing, at twenty-four - 
years growth, for a guinea the tree, and thefe not pick'd from ? 
quantities, but a whole line of them, above fixty in number : : 
They were generally about eighteen inches diameter, a foot above - 
grovmd, and forty feet high. 



jF OKES T-TREES. 21 



Chapter 11. 
The beech TREE, 

The S" P E C I E s are : 

1. The common Beech. 

2. The yellow-ftrip'd Beech, 

3. The white-flrip'd Beech, 



^ S H E common method of railing thefe plants, is, fowirig their -- 
-fi- feeds in beds, very thick, early in the fpring, and letting 
them ftand two years ; or^ by drawing a part of them the lirft 
and fecond year, leaving the remainder till three years old : Eiit 
this, however general, is a very bad practice, as the plants thus 
drawn have moll of their tender fibres torn away, (an injury 
they will not foon recover) ; and what remains, w'lW be carrot= 
rooted, and fufier much, by the necefllty of fliortening thefe 
roots (then hard and woody) before tranfplanting them. I fliall 
therefore leave the beaten path, and dired: the practice I have - 
found moft fuccefsful in the culture of this tree, and bringing it 
fooneft to perfecflion. . 

Being* provided in maft from the ftraighteft and frefliefl trees, 
as foon in autumn as the huflcs are quite dry, mix them with 
fand, and lay them. imder an old frame, or other covering, to~ 



T R E A T I S E on 

proteil them from froft and wet. This will prepare the feeds 
for vegetation, and difappoint the mice, who generally have a 
large fliare of them when early fown. 

In the beginning of March, fow them thin in fhallow drills^ 
about eighteen inches afunder; and if the feafon is dry, and 
water at no great diftance, give them frequent but moderate wa- 
terings, from their beginning to appear above ground, till the 
middle, of Augufl, which will much forward the growth of the 
plants e 

In March, next feafon, with a fpade made very fliarp for the 
purpofe, undermine the roots as they ftand in the drills, and cut 
them over between four and five inches under ground. 

The following autumn, or fpring, you may either raife the 
whole, or give them another cutting below ground, when gently 
railing fuch as are too thick, leave the remainder, at proper di- 
ftances, to ftand another feafon. This manner of cutting the 
roots dexteroufly, has, in a ^reat meafm'e, the fame effect as tr-anf- 
planting. 

Those you have raifed, after fmoothing the bruifed and bro- 
ken roots, and cut away fome of the fmall hairy fibres, muft be 
planted in lines two feet afimder, and nine or ten inches in the 
line ; and if the foil is good, and the plants have grown vigo- 
rouily, they fliould remain here only two years, but in poor land 
they may continue three. 

Those left in the drills where fown, are, next autumn, or 
fpring, to be treated as thefe. 



F O R E S T - T R E E 23 

I MUST here obferve a general error in the management of 
of the Beech Tree at this age, which is, trimming off all their fide^ 
branches, and planting only the bare ftem. This is doing the 
greatefl violence to thefe plants, and whac, if ever, they will 
not for feveral years get the better of, as no tree 1 know admics 
lefs of being prvmed at tranfplanting, particularly when young, 
they . conftantly turning hide-bound and ftunted when that is le- 
verely done ; therefore, nothing but very crofs ill-placed branches 
(and even thefe fparingly) are to be touched at this time. . 

From this nurfery they muft be removed to another, and 
planted in lines three and a half feet afunder, and eigiiteen 
inches in the line,, where they may remain, if in good foil, three, 
but in poor land four years ; obferving always to prune mode-' 
rately at removal, and leave abundance of fmall branches to in- - 
creafe their bodies. 

At this period, thefe plants will be fit for common and ex- 
teniive plantations ; but fuch as are defigned for removal, when 
large trees, muft- undergo more difcipline. 

These muft now be removed to another rrarfery, and plant- 
ed in lines five feet afunder, and two feet diftance in the linCy 
to remain in good ground three, but in poor four years. 

From this r-emovje them again, and plant them eight feet a-» 
funder line from line, and fix feet in the line, to remain fbuj? 
years. 

From this nurfery, if required of a larger lize, remove them to^ • 
fields, planting them ten feet afunder, every way, to be ready for.. 



24 



TREATISE OK 



your futiire dcfigns ; and manage them hereafter as has been di« 
reeled for the Ehiis. 

As it has been obferved, no deciduous tree agrees worfe than 
this v/ith pruning at removal, to which may be added, wound- 
ing them, by cutting off large branches, the beft method of 
treating them, is to reduce them to their proper form by regular 
prunings in the nurfery, particularly the feafon before they are 
tranfplanted ; by regularly obferving which, and keeping them 
in a proper degree of moifture, they will not be fenlibly retard^ 
ed in their future growth. 

The forts with variegated leaves, are propagated by budding 
them on the common kind. 

This valuable tree, for lofty efpalier hedges to inclofe and 
warm gardens, or for hedge-rows foon to fhelter barren fields, 
has hardly an equal, and, by retaining its leaves all winter, af- 
fords the fame protedlion as an evergreen: It is therefore ama- 
zing it fhould not be more univerfally planted in the cold, bleak, 
and mountainous parts of the kingdom, where it will grow in 
the pooreft, ftonieft, fandy, and gravelly grounds, and infinuate 
its roots into places one would think impenetrable to any plant. 
It is, befides, a tree of great beauty; and though the wood is 
not fo valuable as that of fome others, it brings a price, and is 
fit for many ufeful purpofes ; and for fuel, it is the beft of any 
wood we have in this climate. 



F 0 R E S T - T R E E S. 



Chapter III, 



P L A T A N u s ; or, The P L A N E TREE. 



1. The true Oriental Plane. 

2. The Maple-leav'd or Spanish Plane. 

3. The- Weftern or Virginian Plane. 

"^HE firft fort is ufually increafed from layers, though, where 



make the finefl trees. 

If they are propagated from layers, let them be laid down 
the beginning of March, and in a year's time they will be fufn- 
ciently rooted. 

If from feeds, fow them in the autumn as foon as the feeds 
are thoroughly dry, in a moift rich foil, and lliady fituation. In 
the winter, fcreen the beds with peafe-ftraw, rotten tanners bark, 
two or three inches deep, or fome other light covering that can 
eafily be removed in mild weather, to prevent .the ground, for 
want of air, from contra(5ling a muftinefs, which might deftroy 
the feeds. In the fpring following, before the feeds vegetate, 
rake the beds gently over with a fliort-teeth'd rake, fifting a 
little frefli rich mould on them, in proportion to what has been 
raked off; and, in dry weather, during the fummer months, let 



The Species are : 




the feeds can be procured, the plants raifed from them 



D 



2^ T R E A T r s e; o m 

them be regularly refreflied with water. The following autumn^ 
the beds having been made quite clean, and loofened with your ■ 
iinger, fo as- not to difhurb the plants, put a little more good 
movild about them with. your, hands, after which they will re- 
quire no further trouble^ but keeping them clean, till they have 
had another feafon's growth ; by which time, let them be remo- 
ved to the. nurfery the fucc ceding fpring. 

The fecond: fort, though by many ranked as a diflindl fpecies, 
Mr Miller (and- 1 believe juftly) thinks only a feminal variety of 
the firft ; though the leaves are lefs divided than it, but more 
than the weftern kind" this may eafily be inereafed by layers. 

The third fort grows freely from cuttings, which ought to:> 
be planted the beginning of March, in fhady borders of rich, 
moift earth, two feet line from line, and eight or ten inches 
in the line; and if they are torn afunder at the joints, with; 
a knob or bur of the old wood , left, they will grow more readily^ 
and fooner become ftrong plants, than the others. Thefe cut-- 
tings ought to be a foot or fourteen inches long, buried about: 
eight inches deep, and moderately watered till their fiioots are 
two or three inches long, where they fhould remain two years. . 
The leaves of this kind are broader, and lefs indented than the 
other two forts ; it is likewife hardier, grows fafter,, and to a 
greater magnitude in this climate : So that in large plantations, 
or in expofed fitu^ations, I would advife the greateft_ quantity of 
diem to be plantedj 

Th E feedlings, layers, and cuttings, are now all to be treated 
iii the fame m-anner, and planted out in the nurfery, in lines 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 



three feet and a half afunder, and eighteen inches didance in 
•the line : Let them get a plentiful watering at removal ; cut 
away the extremities of their roots, with all ill-placed over- 
crowded branches, and let them continue here three years. 

From this remove them to another nurfery, and plant them 
in lines fix feet afunder, and three feet in the line, where they 
may ftand fix or feven years without removal, if chofen, as 
this tree naturally produces abundance of roots with little cul- 
ture. In this nurfery let the ground be annually dug, as for 
other trees, and regularly pruned to the form you would have 
them : By obferving which, after you have planted them out 
for good, your labour is properly over, as they will require 
little or no pruning ever after, but advance in a regular "and 
i>eautiful manner, without the affiftance -of art. 

The proper feafon of tranfplanting this tree is in the month 
of March, when, and during the fummer months, if the feafon 
is dry, they, ought to be plentifully watered, partictiiarly if the 
foil is light and thin ; for though this is a very hardy plant, 
yet, by removing them in autumn or winter, if the feafon fliould 
prove very fevere, the extremities of the preceding fummer's 
ihoot are fometimes blafted, which disfigure them a little the 
Succeeding year„ 

The Plataniis will grow in any tolerable foil, but they natu- 
rally delight in a moift deep ground ; therefore, when planted 
on that of an oppofite quality, they Ihould be plentifully Water- 
ed for feveral fummers, which they will gratefully acknowledge, 
by the luxuriatice of their growth. 

D 2 



28 



TREATISE on 



This beautiful and magnificent tree is faid to have been firi$ 
introduced into England by the great Lord Chancellor Bacon, who 
planted a large parcel of them at Verulam, near London, which 
were very llouriihing there a few years ago. The great efleem 
the antient Perfians, Afiatics, Greeks, and Romans, (who brought 
it from the Levant) had for it, is recorded by many hi— 
ftorians, as that of its falubrious emiffions having prevented 
the plague at Ifpahan in Perfia, wdiich, after a number of them 
were planted, had not come near their dwellings, though 
for many centuries it had. made dreadful ravages in that great 
city. The ftory of Xerxes halting his army of feventeen hun- 
dred thoufand men. for fome days, when on his march to in- 
vade Greece, to admire the beauty and magnitude of one of thefe 
venerable Planes, is well known ; as is that of the Romans moift- 
ening them with wine inftead of water. But a relation at large 
of thefe, and many other fuch circumftances, would exceed the 
bounds of, and be unneceffary in a work of this kind : It is 
therefore fufficient here to obferve, that the high efteem in which 
thefe ancient nations held this noble tree, appears to me a flrong 
argument of their refined tafte and judgment ; and I am heartily 
forry to fay, tllat the negle6l of its genera! culture in thofe king- 
doms is a reflexion on ours. It affords the moil glorious lhade 
of any tree yet known ; and Pliny juflly obferves, there is none 
v^hicli lb vv^ell defends us from the heat of the fun in fummer, 
or that admits it more kindly in winter. 

Th e Italians and Turks ufed foiTuerly to build moft of their 
fiiips with this timber; and they had them of fo enormous a fize, 
that whole canoes, and other ^veflels for the fea,have been exca- 
vated out of their prodigious trunks. It is hard, ciofe, takies 3. 
nns polifh, and, is valuable for a variety of ufeful purpoies^_ 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 29 

4 

Chapter IV. 
The maple TREE. 

The Species are : 

1. The greater Maple, in England falfely called the Sycamore, 

and in Scotland the Plane Tree. 

2. The Norway Maple, with Plane-tree leaves, 

3. The Virginian Flowering Maple. 

4. The American Maple, with Scarlet flowers, 

5. The Virginian Afli-leav'd Maple. 

6. The Common or LeiTer Maple. 

7. The Greater Maple, with ftrip'd leaves. 

8. The Norway Maple, with ftrip'd leaves, 

I ''HE two firft mentioned forts being the largeft growing 
and hardieft trees, are of com'fe moft proper for extenfive 
plantations and expofed fitnations ; for which reafon, I fliall firft 
diredl the culture of them till of confiderable fize, and then pro- 
ceed to the other forts.. 

Their feeds ripen in autumn, when they muft be gathered 
in fair weather, and fpread in an airy- place till thoroughly 
dry, which may probably be in four or five weeks time. The 
general praclife is, to fow them at this time ; but, from lo'ng 
experience, I have found it better, and have raifed more, and 
liner plants, to m-ix the feeds with fand, or loofe fandy earth,, 
and keep tliem defended from fevere froft, or much moifture, till 



30 TREATISE ON 

Eebruarf, or die beginning of March, as the weather is more or 
lefs flivourable about this time : If not ftrait'ned for land, fow 
them in drills, as has been direcled for the Beech, but thinner ; 
if otiierways, kt them be put in beds only eighteen inches broad, 
with alleys the fame widenefs, and cover them about three quar- 
•ters of an inch thick. 

The following February or March, dig the -alleys, and cut 

their roots about five inches under ground, which, with a -fharp 

ipade, may with-eafe be performed; and draw a confiderable 

quantity of the largeft plants where too thick, (which, if the 

ground is good, and has been properly dreffed and kept clean, 

mofl of them will be) ; let thefe be planted in good mellow foil, 

in drills cut out with the fpade quite perpendicular, that the plants 

may ftand upright ; let the lines be eighteen inches afmider, 

and the plants placed at eight or nine inches diftance in them; 

and here they should only remain one year, the ground being 
tolerably good. 

In the following O6lober, when the plants will be in general 
two feet high and upwardsj let them be raifed, both the feed- 
lings, and thefe that were tranfplanted ; fhorten their top-roots, 
cut off any crofs lateral branches, and remove them to ano- 
ther nurfery, where they ought to be planted in rows, two and a 
half feet afunder, and i 5 inches in the row, to continue two years. 

From dience remove them again, at the fame feafon, and 
plant them in rows five feet afunder, and two and a half feet in 
the row, where they may continue four years. 

These, in an ordinary foil, will now be from twelve to fifteen 
feet high, and^ if required of a larger fize for future purpofes. 



FOR EST-TREES. 



may be removed to any convenient fituation, and planted eight 
or ten feet afunder ; when, any time after two, and not exceeding 
eight or ten years, they may be placed where defigncd to remain : 
And if, during that time, they have been Hcilfally pruned, and, 
by that, brought to their proper form, carefully raifed, and mo- 
derately watered at planting, which, in a dry fammer, may re- 
quire being two or three times repeated, your labour with them 
is at an end, 

I HAVE dire(5led both fpring and autumn planting for this and 
other trees ; the reafon for which is, that tho' the autumn is pre- 
ferable for moil of the deciduous kinds, when ftrong and well- 
rooted, yet thefe fame kinds, planted in the autumn, or winter, 
when young, and before they have got fufiicient roots, are apt to 
be injured by frofi:, and fpewed out of the ground infevere feafons,. 

The caufe of To frequently remoAdng thefe trees w^hen young, 
is, that they naturally grow with dowmight carroty-roots, tho', 
after undergoing the difcipline here prefcribed, no plant roots- 
better, or is more patient of tranfplanting to a large fize, 

Theue is no tree, yet known in this climate,, fo proper to be 
planted near the fea, as the Great Maple, VNrhere I have known it 
grow luxuriantly, after many other kinds have been tried in 
vain; and, in a few years, their flielter will cherifh and bring- 
forward many hardy forts, which no art v/iil otherways effecJl. 

This tree, however otherways valuable, fiiould not be planted' 
near the houfe, or by the fides of walks that are. intended to be 
finely kept ; for their leaves exude a fweet clammy juice that 
entices, great quantities of infetfls,, who eat them full' of holes.,- 



T R E A T I S E ON 



and make tliem unfiglitly ; belides, the leaves falling early in 
autumn, turn to mucilage, and putrify with the firft moifhure 
of the feafon, /o as they contaminate and fpoil the walks, ren- 
dering them both difagreeable, and expenfive to clean. 

I HAVE not had the opportunity of planting the Norway Maple 
mear the fea, but, in many other fituations, I have planted them 
in concert with the common large fort, and found them equally 
hardy, and of as free a growth : They are a much handfomer 
tree^ and their leaves have not the noxious qualities of the other. 

The third, fourth, and fifth forts, are pretty trees, and proper 
for the wildernefs, and other ornamental plantations, but fhould 
not be planted fmgly, or in cold expofed fituations in this cli- 
mate, as they commonly fuffer much, both by the violence of 
the weflerly, and coldnefs of the north and eaft winds. They 
may be propag^lted from feeds as the former kinds, when thefe 
can be procured ; but as they are not fo generally to be had in 
this country, they fucceed readily by layers, which, laid down 
in autumn or fpring, will be fiilEciently rooted in twelve months. 

Having carefully raifed your layei's, and dreffed them as 
directed for others, plant them out in a quarter of good v^eii- 
prepared ground, in rows, three feet afunder, and a foot diftance 
in the TO\Y ; let them be watered, to fettle the earth about their 
roots, and remain here two or three years, from whence remove 
them to where they are meant to remain for good. 

Th e common or lelTer Maple, which produces abundance of 
l^eds with us, is eafiiy propagated from them, in the fame way 
as the larger kind, and may be fbvsm in beds three and a half 



FOREST-TREES, 



33 



feet wide, according to the common pra6lice, and, from tlic feed- 
bed, at two years old, planted in the nurfery for two years more, 
in lines, two feet afunder, when they will be fit for the purpofes 
dehgned. This is a tree of humble .growth, fcldom riling above 
twenty-five or thirty feet high, and therefore not generally ufed 
in large plantations of timber trees, but is very common in the 
hedge-rows over moil parts in England. 

The large flrip'd Maple, is commonly propagated by budding 
it on the plain Idnd, and may alfo be railed from feeds, many of 
which will be as finely variegated as the trees that produced 
them; a circumftance very uncommon in other variegated plants, 
which rarely produce their own likenefs. 

The ftrip'd Norway Maple, is alfo propagated by budding it 
on the plain kind, and is a finely variegated tree, tho' I cannot 
fay that the feeds of them will produce variegated plants, never 
having been able certainly to procure them of the true kind, tho' 
I have frequently fown them as fuch inefFe(5lually. 

These trees, the firft, fecond, and fixth forts particularly, 
will profper in very indifferent coarfe land, but moft affects that 
which is deep and moift, tho' not wet or fliff ; in fuch places 
they will make furprifing progrefs, and in a few years become 
llately trees. The third, fourth, and fifth forts, delight mofl in 
a firm dry mould. 

The various ufes of this tree to the turner, for diflies, drink- 
ing-cups, bowls, and trenchers, and to the joiner for tables, (6-t. 
are too generally known to require a particular relation here ; but 
that of the common leffer Maple, is much the beft Avood of all 
the kinds we yet know, 

E 



34 



TREATISE a 



C H A P T E R V. 

The oak TREE. 

The S p E c li E s ^r^ 

1. The common Oak. 

2. The broad-leav'd Oak. 

3. The Virginian Scarlet Oak. 

4. The Virginian Oak, with chefnut leaves:^ 

5. The black Maryland Oak. 

6. The white Oak of Carolina. 

7. The Oak with woolly leaves. 

8. The Chefnut-leav'd Eaftern Oak, with a thick fcaley cup,. 

9. The broad-leav'd Eaftern Oak, whofe leaves are finely 

cut, with a large acorn, and hairy cup, 
10. The Champion Chefnut Oak. 
J I. The red Maryland Oak. 
12. The willow-leav'd Maryland Oak, 
1=3. The Burgundy Oak. 

14. The gall-bearing Oak. 

15. The cut-leav'd Spanifti Oak.. 

16. The fwamp Spanifh Oak, 

17. The ftrip'd Oak, 

THERE are many other kinds of Oaks mentioned in the 
catalogues of different writers on botany and gardening, 
but thefe, here feledfed, I have found, from experience, the moft 



T O R E S T - T R E E S. 35 



diflina fpecies, and fineft trees of that tribe I have feen ; many of 
the others having httle beauty, and fome of them being only fe- 
minal variations : I therefore thought it unnecefTary to enumerate 
more, as all the forts may be propagated in the manner here di- 
rected. 

The fix forts firft mentioned are trees of the largeft growth, 
and therefore fhould be planted where fuch are required ; the 
others, being of more hiimble ftature, may be confined to the wil- 
dernefs, or fmaller defigns : But as the wood of the common En- 
glifli Oak is much preferable to any of them we yet know, fo the 
foreign kinds fliould only be propagated in fmall quantities, for 
jornamental purpofes, at leaft till their virtues are better known. 

This tree is ufually planted out for good when very young, 
from the general belief, that it will not fiicceed at any confider- 
able age ; and indeed, from the common methods of its culture, 
the obfervation is too well founded : But by following better rules, 
which I fliall here endeavouir to give, and which are the refult 
of very confiderable praClice, it will tranfpiant with certain fuc~ 
cefs to a large fize. 

No tree requires more addrefs, to make a handfome well-pro- 
portion'd free-growing plant, than the Oak ; none is more negledl- 
ed, tho' none more worthy our attention. It is rare to fee a 
ftraight uniform plantation of them, butivhere they are crowded 
very thick together, or drawn up by the fhelter of other plants. 

The common method of raifing Oaks, is, by fowing them in 
beds, very thick, and in that condition letting them fland two, 

E 2 



36 TREATISE on 

and fometimes three years. They are naturally carrot-rootecfy 
and run ilraight down into the earth, with few, and fometimes no 
fibres ; and by (landing in this fituation for that time, they are 
drawn up tall and {lender ; and their roots having become hard 
and woody, the cutting away of thefe roots, to a proper length, 
which they muft necelfariiy be, becomes a very violent operation 
on the plants j by which means many of them fail, and the re- 
mainder, from fo fevere a check, will be feverai years in gather- 
ing roQts, and of courfe, during that time, will be ftunted, crofs- 
growing, and fhrubby : But, to remedy thefe evils, purfue the fol- 
lowing fyftem, from the obfervation of which I have long been 
fuccefsful, in rearing many beautiful, ftraight, and well-propor- 
tioned Oaks. 

Having provided yourfelf with acorns in the autumn, gather- 
ed from the handfomeft and moft vigorous trees, in fair weather, 
fpread them in an airy covered place, and turn them frequently 
till quite dry ; when you find they are fo, mix them with fand, 
or loofe light earth, and let them be prote(fted from vermin, 
froft, and moifture, till about the midcUe of February.. 

At this time, or as foon after it as the weather will admit, 
prepare, by a clean digging and raking, a fpot of good natural 
foil ; and, to render the crop equal and uniform, try the goodnefs 
of your feeds, by throwing them into a tub with water, when 
the frefh will fink to the bottom, and the rotten or defedlive float 
on the furface. The quality of the acorns being thus afcertained, 
make fhallow drills acrofs the ground, with a fmall hoe, at eigh-' 
teen or tv/enty inches diflance ; and in thefe drop your acov^s^ 
about two inches feparate, covering them, with the back df a-i'^^^^y 



/ 

/ 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 37, 

two inches deep ; let die ground be raked linooth, and kept clean 
and mellow during the fummer months. 

The beginning of April, the fucceeding fpr'mg^ cut them un- 
der ground as directed for the iieech, and let them remain till 
the Ipring after. 

From this fituation, as foon as their buds begin to fwell, let 
them be carefully raifed, without tearing their roots or fibres and 
ground being ready, feparate the ftraight free-growing plants 
from the crooked and flirubby ; fliorcen any downright or bruifed 
roots, but be very fparing of the fmall fibres ; and plant the 
ftraight trees in one quarter of the nurfery, in rows, two feet a- 
funder, and nine inches in the row; and the crooked ones in ano- 
ther, at the fame diflances : Let thefe plants be as little time as 
poilible out of the ground ; for this purpofe, raife few of them at 
a time, and if you have the command of four men, they will 
fuddenly difpatch a great number of them, that is, by one man 
raifmg the plants, another pruning them, and giving them to the 
planters, and two planting. 

If the land is good, and the feafons have been kindly, the 
ftraight plants may be removed in two years ; but when either of 
thefe circurnfiances is otherways, they may continue three fea- 
fons. 

Tf e crooked and brufliy trees, having flood two years in the 
nurfery, muft be cut over by the ground, and remain two years 
longer ; and obferve, that, as foon as their Ihoots are four or five 
inciies long, you pinch off all but the molt promiiing one ; from 



38 



TREATISE o If 



-whence the whole flrength and juices of the root will be exerted 
in the fupport of f^is fingle ilioot. 

Another method of railing thefe trees, with equal fliccefs, 
is, fowing the acorns on beds, in rows, feven or eight inches a- 
funder, and two or three inches in the row, covering them the 
ufual depth, and letting them remain only one year. 

From thefe beds remove them the following fpring, and ha- 
ving fliortened their top-roots, lay them in lines, cut down per- 
pendicular with the fpade, eighteen inches afunder, and eight or 
nine inches in the line, where they may continue two years.. 

From therice remove them, feparating, as has been faid, the 
ftraight from the crooked, and plant them in different quarters, 
in rows, two feet and a half afander, and one foot diftance in 
the row ; the ftraight plants to continue here three years, and 
the crooked, if they have grown freely, to be cut over in one, but 
if otherways, not till two years j and here they fliould remain 
three years longer. 

Many writers of reputation diredl fowiiig the acorns, as foon 
as thoroughly dry, in Odober or November, the principle of 
growth being fo fcrong in them, that they are apt to flioot foon 
after, tho' not in the ground, and with that flioot will decay. This, 
they fay, is the order of nature, and I readily admit it is fo ; nor 
do I condemn their practice : But I have found, from innumerable 
inftances, the method before direded will produce better-rooted 
and cleaner plants ^ and how indeed can it be otherways ? for, 
muft not the ground, which, as it ought, we muft fuppofe has 
been well trenched or dug the preceding autumn, mellowed and 



0 

FOREST-TREES. 



iniiched' during winter with the heavenly influences, and again 
in the fpring dug and laid down fwcet and loofe, — mull not the 
foil in this condition, I fay, nourifli every plant in a much 
higher degree, than that laid down in autumn, hardened and 
battered with the winter rains ? And tho' many of the acorns 
will vegetate before fowing, yet that vegetation is preferved by 
the mixture of fand or loofe earth, and, before February, will 
make no advance, tending to impede, but, on the contrary, will 
forward the future growth of the plant ; only, let it be carefully 
attended to, that the acorns have not the fmalleft degree of 
moifture about them when mixed, that the mixture is alfo 
dry, and that they are kept protecT:ed from wet.. 

/ 

Gardeners, in general, have the fpecious word nature eter- 
nally in their mouths, and no doubt there is a great deal in it, 
when properly underflocd and applied ; but the herd of them 
knew nothing of either, and the true application of it in garden- 
ing, requires good fenfe, joined to much obfervation and experi- 
ence : But be tliat fo, or otherwife, was not nature def gned to 
be modified and improved by art in many things ? If it was not, 
many found heads have in vain perplexed themfelves in the 
ftudy of gardening. 

Bet ORE proceeding to the further culture of the Oak, this 
may be a proper place to take notice of the general, or almofL 
univerfal ill' practice of nurferymen, dibbling their plants of one 
and two years old, or indeed as large as the dibble, with hard 
thrufting, will make room to contain them. Dibbling is hurtful,, 
in a high degree, to the vv'liole fpecies of trees and plants ; but 
to the Oak, and all the nut-bearing carroty-rooted kinds-, it is 



40 TREATISE on 

doubly dcflrudive, particularly in ftrong ftiff ground. Common 
reafon, one would readily believe, fliould point out the abfurdi- 
ty of tliis practice to every gardener of obfervation ; notwith- 
ftanding w^hicli, I do not remember any author v^ho warns us 
againfl it, but, on the contrary, many direct it for general prac- 
tice. If a man, however, refleds but a very little, he muft be ' 
fen£lble, that the roots of plants, fqueezed into a hole made 
hard by the firong prelTure of a dibble, muft neceffarily retain the 
moifhure in wet weather, to fuch a degree, as to endanger the root- 
ing of the roots, and that in dry weather this hole will be- 
come fo hard, as to prevent the tender fibres from extending them- 
felves, and procuring proper nourifliment ; fo that if the plant 
lives, its roots are comprelTed into a fmall hard duller of moul- 
dy fibres, which nothing but fevere pruning a great part of a- 
way, and different removals in good foil, will ever recover to a 
vigorous fiate. Nothin'g can excufe this pradlice in fenfible 
nurferymen, but its being done at lefs expence than laying them 
v/ith the fpade ; and that they are in fome meafure forced to it, 
from the ignorance and avarice of untutor'd upftarts, who af- 
fame the name of nurferymen, and take every opportunity that 
the worfl pra6tice prefents, fo it b^ cheap, of under-felling the 
fcnfible, honefl, indujlrious gardener, and cheating the unlkil- 
ful purchafer, no regard being paid to the quality of the plants. 

Neiti-ier is the ill e&Ct of dibbling confined to trees alone, 
but extends to many of the herbaceous plants, and other vegeta- 
bles, which fuffer in the fame proportion. I have often made the 
experiment of this in Cabbages, Colly flov/ers. Potatoes, <6'T. 
planted on the i?ane ground, the fame day ; and 'tis amazing 
how much larger thofe were, put in with the fpgde or trewel, 



F O R E S T - T Tx E E S. 41 



loofely, tlian thefe dibbled : In fliort, too much cannot b^ faid 
againil this barbarous method of treating trees ; which, if it 
prove not their immediate grave, will at leafl continue to be their 
prifon. But I fliall now return to the further culture of the Oak. 

This tree, having been managed as here diredlcd, will be o. 
a proper age and fize for being removed to large plantations fo^ 
good, and, from the abundance of their roots, and good propoi 
tion of their bodies, will refill the moft violent winds ; but fuel 
as incline to provide large trees of the common Englifh Oak, fo. 
future purpofes, mufc proceed farther, as follows : 

Having fixed on a fpot of good mellow ground, that has 
been vv^ell dug the preceding autumn, about the end of March, 
or beginning of April, give it another digging, level it well, and 
pick out all remaining ftones and root-vv^eeds from it. As foon 
as their buds begin to fwell, raife fuch trees (vv^hich ought to be 
the flraighteft and fineft) as you intend to cultivate further in the 
nurfery way ; Hill continue to fliorten fach roots as tend dovvai- 
wards,- and fmooth the fpreading ones that are long, or have 
been wounded with the fpade in raifxng them ; and where there 
are abundance of fibres, you ?TLay likewife cut away fome of the 
fmalleft, which, if the trees are not immediately planted, w^il de- 
cay, and fometimes bring a mouldnefs about the principal roots : 
You muft alfo cut oif all ill-placed crofs branches from their 
bodies, leaving, only a few of the fmaller, at proper intervals, to 
detain the fap, for the augmentation of the trunk ; and let not a 
bud of the leading fhoot be ruffled, as that is difficult to repair 
in the Oak, by any other means than cutting over the tree. Let 
thefe operations be done in the gentleft manner, not iliaking the 
plants, that as much earth as poffible may continue about tiicir 
roots. 



4^ TREATISE on 

Tii E treco now properlj prepared, plant them in lines, five 
feet afnnder, and two feet and a half in the line ; give them a 
plentiful watering, to fettle the earth to their roots ; and if you 
repeat this once a fortnight for three or four times, the feafo» 
being drj^, it will much promote their growth. In this nurfer)r 
they may remain, in good' generous land, four, but in poor and 
hungry, five or fix years : Let the ground be annually dug be- 
tv»^een the lines, and the trees pruned every fpring, with the 
fiuiie care and attention as at removing them. I cannot here 
leave the article of pruning, without begging to be a little fur- 
ther indulged, in obferving, that no circumftance is attended 
with worfe confequences to plantations of trees in general, than 
the negle(3; of timely and regular pruning when young ; and 
what mvift render it quite inexcufable, is, that even in ample 
plantations, the expence is very trifling, when annually perform- 
ed. The cutting of young and tender branches can have no ill 
effect, either on the life or growth of the tree; but the wounds 
made by lopping off old wood, always much weakens, and often 
produces a gangrene that proves mortal, in fome kinds by excef- 
five bleeding, and in others, by imbibing moiflure, and com- 
municating it to the body. Thefe are truths founded on na— 
' ture, reafon and experience, and which ought to warn all plant- 
ers to a due performance of this operation, as, from the judici- 
ous praftice of it, joined to the other articles of culture 
mentioned, the plants are not only preferved in a healthful 
free growing ftate, but may be formed to any fliape or propor- 
tion you pleafe, their, nature will admit of ; but which negle6led 
a few years, no future difcipline will reduce to fine plants. But 
if Oaks have been negledled, and grown rude, the beft feafon of 
cutting their large branches is in March; for the young andi 
tender, any time from autumn till fpring is equal,. 



F O R E S T » T R E E S. 



Th e trees from this culture will now be finely rooted, ftraight 
and well-proportioned, and, in an ordinary foil and fituation, 
from ten to twelve feet high; and thofe firil cut over, will be 
the largeft and handfomeft plants. 

But to make them proper for tranfplanting at a larger fize, 
remove them again to any convenient fpot of tolerable ground, 
managing the roots as formerly ; and plant them in lines, eight 
feet afunder, and fix feet in the line, watering them plentifully 
when planted ; where they may continue fix or feven years, by 
which time they will be about twenty feet high. 

If flill a referve of larger is wanted, remove them once more, 
and plant them twelve feet afunder ; give them an abundant wa- 
tering at planting, and repeat it three or four times, more or 
lefs as the nature of the feafon requires. In this fituation they 
may continue, ready for whatever new defign occvirs, for eight 
or ten years, when, by a careful removal, and four or five plen- 
tiful waterings the firft and fecond fummer, they will grow as 
luxuriantly as if they had flood in the fame foil from the fmall- 
eft fize, and arrive as foon at full maturity, with this advan- 
tage, that the trees, from the regular and timely prunings they 
have had, muft of courfe be formed to their proper fhape, and 
will require little or no further trouble. 

Tho' moft of the deciduous trees, particularly large plants of 
them, fucceed beft, being planted in autumn, the Oak is one 
exception to this rule, and is found univerfally to remove with 
more fafety, and grow more freely, when tranfplanted in the 
fpring; therefore this feafon fliould be invariably obferved, as, 
in wet, or even moift fwampy lands, I have often known large 

F 2 



44 



-TREATISE 



plantations of them almoft totally deftroyed by a\itumna], or 
winter planting. 

This noble tree, "the monarch of the woods, the boaft and 
bulwark of the Britifli nation, will grow freely in a great varie- 
ty of foils, now either altogether wafle, appropriated to the 
produdion cf meaner trees, or other more ignoble pm'pofes. 
This proceeds from not attending to its nature and properties, 
by making the experiment of planting it on all the various foils ; 
for though, like the greateft part of other trees, it (particularly at 
iirft) affects, a found deep mould, it will, notwithftanding, profper 
exceedingly on the coarfefl moift gravel, loam and fand, or ftiff 
heavy clay and till (which moll other trees abhor), and that too 
when thefe foils are fo fteril and hungry as not to aflbrd gra- 
zing for llieep. 

The flrip'd Oak, is propagated by budding or grafting it on 
the common kind, and is a very beautiful variegation, which I 
have much improved, both in the brightnefs of the colours, and 
fize of the leaf, by joining it to the fcarlet Virginian, and 
chefnut-leav'd kinds. 

Th e tenderer kinds of Oaks will be rendered more hardy, and 
the dwarf kinds improved in fize, by grafting and budding on 
the common fort, which, to thofe who incline to have all the 
fpecies of this fine plant in its greateft perfedlion and beauty, is 
well worth the trouble of thefe operations. 



Th e value and ufes of the wood of this tree, are fo univer- 
fally known, that it would be an infult on the underftanding of 
the meaneft mechanic, to employ time in relating them here. 



O R E S T - T R E E S. 



45 



C II A P T E R VL 

T HE ASH TREE. 

The Species are: 

1. The common Ash, 

2. The Manna Ash. 

3. The Vh'ginian flowering A s H . 

4. The New-England Ash, with fliarp-pointed leaves. 

5. The Carolina Ash. 

6. The white American As H» 

7. The black American As H. 

8. The red American A s H . 

9. The white-flowering A s H . 
10. The Ash with fl:rip'd leaves. 

HAVING gathered the keys of the common Afli, in fair 
weather, about the beginning of November, from hand- 
fome vigorous trees, fpread them in an airy loft or covered place, 
turning them frequently till quite dry, which, in a proper fitua- 
tion, they will be in three or four weeks time ; then mix them 
with loofe fandy earth, and let them be prote(5led from wet till 
the following fpring, when they ought to be fown about the be- 
ginning of April, on well-prepared frefla mellow foil, on beds 
three and a half feet broad, with alleys eighteen inches between 
the beds, and covered three quarters of an inch deep. Thefe 
feeds will not appear above ground till the fucceeding fpring, 



46 



TREATISE ON 



-during wliich time it muft notwitliflanding be kept quite 
• clean, and as loofe and little poached as polTible ; and in 
February, before the feeds begin to fpring, let the furface of 
the ground be gently raked over, removing all mufty and foggy 
particles they may have contracted during the vs^inter, and 
throw a little frefli rich mould over them, to replace what you 
have taken away, which will much promote the future growth 
of the plants. In this feminary the trees are to remain only one 
year. 

Having prepared another quarter of good ground in the nur- 
fery, in the fame manner as for the feed, the following February 
or March, remove them ; keep them as ftiort time as may be 
out of the ground, to prevent the fmall fibres withering, and cut 
away only the downright top-roots ; lay them in drills, cut down 
perpendicular with the fpade, as diredled for other plants ; let 
thefe drills be eighteen or twenty inches afunder, and plant 
them at the diftance of eight or nine inches in the drill ; give 
them a gentle watering at planting, and continue it three or four 
times, at proper intervals, if the weather is dry; and here, giving 
them proper culture, let them remain two feafons. 

In Oclober, as foon as their leaves are tarnilhed, remove them 
from this nurfery ; and having pruned off, clofe by the body, all 
the ftrong and ill-placed branches, ftill leaving a number of 
fmall ones to attradl and detain the fap for the augmentation of 
the trunk, plant them in another quarter of any tolerable ground, 
in Unes, three feet and a half afunder, and fifteen or fixteen 
inches in the line, where they may remain three years, obfer- 
ving to dig the ground between the lines every fpring. 



FOREST-TREES. 



47 



By this time the trees, in an ordinary foil, will be about feveii 
or eight feet high, ftrong, well-rooted, and of a proper fize to 
make extenfive plantations ; but where a fucceffion of large ones 
are wanted, remove them every fourth year, pruning their roots 
and bodies as formerly, watering them at planting, and three 
or four times afterwards, in dry weather, every twelve or four- 
teen days, giving them greater intervals in proportion to their 
fize, as directed for the Elm ; from which management, they 
may be removed at any bulk you chufe them, without any fen- 
lible check. 

All the other kinds are propagated by budding them on the 
common Afli, which being a large-growing hardy tree, will be 
a confiderable improvement on the dwarfifli and tenderer forts. 

The Afli ought neither to be planted in gardens, near 
other trees, nor in any mixt plantations. There is no plant I 
remember, that fo foon, and fo much exhaufts the virtues of the 
foil ; and the ihade is malignant to every produdiion of the earth, 
being thus a ftep-dame to other trees : Let them be planted in 
concert, where, notwithftanding thefe unfriendly qualities, if 
properly managed, they will yield great returns of profit to the 
owner in a few years. 

This tree will grow in very fleril barren foil, and in the 
bleakeft and moft expofed fituations ; but in a deep mould, tho' 
of no generous quality, and where there is no Handing water,, 
it will quickly arrive to a great magnitude. 

Thf. wood of the Alh (next to that of the Oak) is of the moil 
univerfal ufe, particularly for all the implements of hufbandry,. 

V 



4S T R E A T I S E on 

It has alfo this fingular advantage, that, when young, it is as 
llrong and lafling timber as that of old trees ; but the value, and 
particular ufes of it, being fo univerfally known, makes it un- 
necelTary tc be related here, , 

I SHALL difmifs this ufeful, though not ornamental tree, in 
laentioning an experiment I made very early in life of its va- 
lue, by planting a fpecimen of them in copfe, .intended princi- 
pally to fupply myfelf with poles for efpalier hedges, and Hakes 
for de?vd fences, for^ which purpofes no wood is more proper or 
iafting. 

For tliefe ends, in very obftinate heavy meadow ground, 
compofed chiefly of fieri! red clay and, mofs, I planted liajf a 
rood, or the eighth part of an acre, with Afli trees fix years old^, 
and about, eight feet high. I placed them in rows, four feet a- 
funder, and two feet diftance in the row, where I let them re- 
main untouched, only digging the ground about them every 
autumn, for four years, when I cut them over five or fxX inches 
above ground for the, purpofes meant, which they then fully 
anfwered, referving twenty of the fairefl plants, at proper di-= 
ftances, for trees. 

I CONTINUED to dig the ground two years longer, and then-- 
left them, to nature for five years more, that is, feven from their 
being cut down. Having more of them than anfwered my own ■ 
purpofes, or indeed than I could have imagined fo fmall a fpot 
of ground would produce, I thought of making the mofli of what 
I had to fpare, and accordingly meafured ofFexadly one half c£. 
tKem, which I fokkf or pollards and hoops, at forty fhillings>- 



IfOREST-TREES. 



49 



I CUT them again in fix years more, which, being ftrongcr 
thaii the former, I fold for fifty fliiUings. 

In fix years after this, I again cut them over, and though thefe 
were much the largeft flioots, I fold them at the fame price as 
the laft. 

There remained now twenty trees on the whole ground, in- 
tended to ftand for timber, ten of which grew amongft the copfe 
I had fold. My meaning was not to touch thefe till the decline 
of my life, that I might leave to poflerity what obfervations I 
was able to make, of the profit a man who begins to plant when 
young, may reap from it in his own time : But the crofs events of 
fortune difappointed me ; for, becoming fecurity in confiderable 
fums for others, who failed in their affairs, I was obliged, by 
rigid creditors, to fell my land, at which time my neceffities 
alfo conftrained me to fell my trees of ail kinds. I hope the rea- 
der will excufe this digreffion, which I believed neceffary, to re- 
move the jufl reflection every judicious planter would make 
againft me, for cutting down hopeful trees at fo early and un- 
profitable a period, if I could have avoided it. Thofe trees I 
fold, of twenty-three years growth, at feven iliillings a tree, to a 
cart-wright, which was L.3 : los. for the ten trees on the copfe 
ground I had cut and fold three times before. 

Thus it appears, that an acre of indifferent ground (for mine 
was very bad) planted with Alh trees in the manner defcribed, 
near, or eafily carried to any populous town, will yield, in 
twenty-three years time, L.i i 5 : 10 s. without any other expence 
than digging the ground for the firff five or fix years, and cutting 

G 



.5^ 



T R E A T I S 'E G N 



over the copfe, which is very trifling, and which the owner ought, 
in all events, to do himfclf carefully for his own fake : Let them 
be cut, flanting, with lharp inftruments, leaving all the wounds 
fmooth and clean, to prevent the wet from lodging in the flocks, 
from whence it might communicate to the roots, and conta- 
minate the whole plant, and which a common purchafer of 
the copfe would probably pay little attention to. The befl: fea- 
fon for this work, is the month of February, before the fap be- 
gin to rife. I have not mentioned any price for the firft cutting, 
liaving ufed them myfelf : Thefe were planted at eight feet high, 
and had flood four years from planting, fo that, from the low- 
eft calculation, they muft have been worth more than pay the 
whole expence of labour : To which I muft add, that, after felling 
the lafl cutting of my copfe, I was informed by an honeft man, 
a good judge of the value of that commodity, that I had been 
grofsly deceived by the purchafer, and that I fhould have recei- 
ved one-third part at leaft more money than I did. 

It is necefTary to obferve, for the benefit of fuch as incline 
to follow this practice, which is furely worth attending to, as it 
might foon become a very profitable improvement, that, after 
the fecond cutting, I found I had planted my copfe too thick, 
and that, had they been at greater diflances, I fhould have reap'd 
confiderably more advantage from them : I therefore now, from 
experience, advife them to be planted in rows, fix feet afunder, 
ajid three feet in the row. 



£ O: R E S T - T R E E S. 



Chapter VII. 



TsE L I M E TREE. 



The Species are: \ 

1. The broacl-leav'd flowering Lime Tree, 

2. The red- twig^d Lime Tree. 

3. The green-twig'd Lime Tree. 

4. The fmall-leav'd Lime Tree, of a tawny green colour 

both in the leaf and bark. 

5. The ftrip'd-leav'd Lime Tree,. 



T 



^ H E firffc mentioned fort is the finefi: plant of the fpecies ; 
The fecond is next to be preferred; it has alfo large leaves, 
grows to be a ftately tree, and the fliining deep red colour of its 
bark has a chearful and agreeable efre<5l in winter. The third 
and fourth forts are much inferior in beauty, and grow in a 
loofe and ftraggling manner, nor ever make fo fliraight or lofty 
trees ; they are therefore unworthy of propagation, in campari- 
fon of the two former kinds ; nor would I have named them, 
but to warn the planters of Lime trees to beware of the forts 
they purchafe, as the nurferies in this country generally abound 
moft in thefe two laft forts, which, perhaps, not being known to 
every nurferyman, are all indifcrimina.tely raifed and fold toge- 
ther, and which, when placed by the fides of walks, or in the 
llraight lines of avenues, from the irregularity of their form,, 
and difference of growth, very much deface fuch plantations, 

G z- 



52 T R E A T I S E o :^ 

Th e Lime tree may be propagated by feeds, wliicli are ripe 
about the end of October, and llioiild, after being quite dry^ 
be mixed v/itli fand, and prote(5led from frofh and rain, till the 
beginning of March ; when they ought to be fown in a fliady 
border of rich, molit, loamy foil, in bed's three and a half feet 
wide, with alleys of eighteen inches, and covered three quarters 
of an inch deep. When the feeds begin to peep,, let them be 
frequently watered, and increafe the quantify as the plants ad- 
vance in growth : Let the beds, in autumn and fpring, be ma- 
naged as diredled for other hardy feedling trees j and here let 
them continue two vears. 

These plants, raifed from feeds, make very little progrefs for 
three or four years ; and as they may readily be increafed by 
layers, which will fave much time, and make equally good 
plants, (lince, in that way, they root abundantly, and grow with 
great eafe and freedom) I would advife the practice of it as the 
belt method to have plantations of thefe trees fpeedily. 

Therefore, having provided yourfelf with ftools, or mother- 
plants, after the fame manner as diredled for the Englifli Elm, and 
planted at the fame diftances, with which, till now, the culture of the 
Lime will exacflly agree, lay down their branches any time from 
Septem.ber till April; only obferve, that the plants laid down in 
autumn, will be better rooted, and have ftronger Ihoots than thofe 
done an the fpring. 

A QUARTER of gcncrous frefli ground having Been v^ell pre- 
pared, about the middle of October take up your layers care- 
fdlly, without tearing or bruifing their fibres-; fhorten theijj 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 53 

roots moderately, and cut away fuch as crofs each other : If the 
layer is plentifully rooted, and thick-bodied in proportion to its 
height, fo as not be fliaken or difplaced by the winds, it may be 
planted at full length ; but fuch as are tall and flender, (which, 
even laid by the beft hands, will be the greatefl part) muft be cut 
over, from fix inches to a foot high, more or lels in proportion 
to the quantity of their roots ; plant them (thefe at full length 
feparate from the others) in lines, three feet afunder, and fifteen 
inches diflant in the line, giving the ground the ufual culture 
of hoeing and digging as for other trees ; and here let them re- 
main three years. 

From thence remove them, at the fame feafon as formerly, to 
anothei" quarter of ftout ground, dreffing their roots, and prun- 
ing their bodies, as directed for the Englilli Elm, and plant them 
in lines, five feet afunder, and two feet in the line ; repeat the 
proper pruning in February every feafon, as alfo fpring and 
autumn digging ; and, in this fituation,. they may continue four 
years. 

Remove them again to another nurfery, flill in good deep 
ground, and plant them in line&, feven feet afunder, and three 
feet in the line, annually giving them the neceiTary pruning, and 
digging the ground between them ; where they may remain four 
years, and no longer. 

By this time the trees, being eleven years old, will, if the foil 
has been middling, and the culture directed given them, be ge- 
nerally above twenty feet high ; but as a fuccefTion of the good 
Hnds of large trees, that move with fafety, will always be ul^n'^ui 



57f T R E A T r S E on 

to a man of fortune polTefTed of land, as alfo to a nurferyman, 
for gain, I would advife, ftill to remove a number of thefe into 
another nurfery, pLinting tliem at ten feet afunder, croping the 
ground with fnch. kitchen herbs as are beft fuited to the foil, 
which will pay both rent and labour, and letting them remain 
five or fix years ; by which time they will be from thirty to 
thirty-five feet high, and will fucceed at, and after removal, as 
well as the fmalleft plant, by giving them three or four plenti- 
ful waterings in dry weather, the firft, ana, m cafe of a long con-?-' 
tinned drought, the fecond feafon*. 

The Lime moffc affecls a rich-feeding loamy foil, but will: 
grow freely in any tolerable land, of a competent depth, though 
coarfe and heavy ; they will alfo grow in fandy and gravelly 
land, but not with the fame beauty or advantage, as, in fach 
iituations, their leaves, in dry feafbns, are often infeiled with 
infedls, and decay early in the autumn ; therefore, in thin 
hungry foil, they ought not to ,be planted in quantities, though 
a few of them may be agreeable, even there, for variety. 

Th e timber of the Lime-tree, is much preferable to that of 
any kind of the Willow, being ftronger, and yet lighter ; it is 
ufed by the carver, by archite(5ls for framing; the -models of their 
buildings, and by the turner for making bowls, diflies, <^x. . 
I am likewife afFured, it is very proper for Uning of rooms, and 
that, when painted, it will laft long. 

This graceful and magnificent tree, the greatefl ornament of 
the Britifli gardens and villas, and pride of planters in the laftj 
^nd great part of the preient century, is now in lefs efteem than >: 



17 O R E S T - T R E E S. 55 



formerly, though for what good rcafon I cannot eafi])" account, 
as it has more good properties, the vahic of the wood only ex- 
cepted, and that too far from being uielefs, than moft trees I 
know. It produces a large, tall, upright body, fmooth fliining 
bark, ample leaf, go®dly and extenfive fliade, healthful odorife- 
rous blolToms, is admirable food for bees, refifts the winds, 
bears lopping off large branches without injury, foon heals of its 
fears and wounds, continues found to a great age, and, of all 
the trees yet known, the Englilh Elm excepted, makes the finefl, 
loftieft, and quickefl palifade hedges. 

I SAY then, from what caufes this tree has fallen into difefteem, 
is to me furprifmg. It were prefumptuous and infolent in me, 
to arraign the tafte and judgment of the numerous, learned, and 
refpe6lable body of planters in Great Britain ; nor am I either 
weak or vain enough to make fuch an attempt, but I cannot 
help doing what I think juftice to this plant. I have argued 
with many of them, in defence of its beauty and utility in various 
refpedls ; the beauty of the tree I have never heard difputed, 
nor ever found the arguments againft it go further, than the 
defe6l of fhading its leaves early in autumn ; but this is only 
materially fo, when they are planted in poor, thin, or hot foil, 
which they diflike, and which, being frequently pradlifed, I pre- 
fume is the principal reafon for their being difcredited ; but as 
the falliions change, and many beautiful plants, as well as other 
things, have been out and in during my time, fo I hope to live 
and fee the Lime again refume its former rank and charader. 



56 T R E A T I S E OH 



Chapter VIII. 
The hornbeam TREE. 

The Species are : 

1. The common Hornbeam. 

2. The Hop Hornbeam. 

3. The Virginian Flowering Hornbeam. 

4. The llrip'd Hornbeam. 

'^J^HE common Hornbeam fliould be propagated by feeds, 
which being ripe in autumn, after fpreading them in a 
loft till dry, ought to be mixed with fand till the following 
fpring, when they may be fown thin on beds of frelh earth, 
three and a half feet broad, with alleys eighteen inches wide be- 
tween the beds, and covered three quarters of an inch deep. 
Thefe feeds will remain a year in the ground before the plants 
appear ; during which time, the earth muft be kept clean and 
mellow. In February next, loofen the furface of the beds with 
a fliort-teeth'd rake, fo as not to difturb the feeds, and throw a 
gentle covering of frefli mould over them ; where they may re- 
main for two years, if not too thick, as the plants make flow 
progrefs the firfl feafon, and are naturally well-rooted. 

From the feed-bed remove them early in 06lober, or as foon 
after as the weather will admit, into any frefh fpot of ground 



FOREST-T REES. 



in the nurfery you can beft fpare, tlio' of an indifTerent quality; 
reduce the fuperfluous roots, cutting away fuch as crois one a- 
nother, and plant them in rows, two feet and a half aliinder, 
and a foot diftance in the row; to remain three years, digging 
the ground between the rows annually. 

By this time the plants will be fit enough for hedges, where 
immediate flielter is not required, or for woods, to be mixed with 
other young trees ; but where you intend at once to have the advan- 
tages of warmth and ornament, a little more labour is required. 

Therefore, where you defire to have Hornbeam hedges 
planted at feven or eight feet high, remove them from the for- 
mer nurfery to another, and place them in rows, ten feet afunder 
row from row, and five feet diftance in the row, training them 
annually in the regular hedge form, but always obferving to keep 
them light and thin in the top, when, after four years ftanding, 
they may be raifed and planted out compleat hedges where 
defigned to remain, and when they will have fuch abundance 
of roots as to defy the ftrongeft winds, and require no farther 
expence or trouble than two or three, plentiful waterings, and 
keeping their roots clean for three or four years. 

Th e ftraighteft plants intended for trees, may, at raifing them 
from the firft nurfery, be feparated from thofe for hedges, and 
planted in rows, five feet afunder, and two feet diftanee in the 
row; let them be annually pruned to their proper form, and from 
hence they may be removed tq the places where they are meant 
to remain, after three or four years ftanding. 

H 



5^8 TREATISE ow 

The fecond and third forts are eafily increafed by layers, and 
make an agreeable variety with other trees in the wildernefs. 

Th e ftrip'd kind is propagated by budding it on the common, , 
but the colours are not ftrong or lively. 

Though I am no advocate for the Harnbeam tree in orna- 
mentar plantations, or in generous foils and Iheltered fituadons, 
yet its being one of the hardieft trees known, the many good 
qualities of the wood, and the fudden flielter and warmth hedges 
of it afford, appear to give it fome claim to our attention, parti- 
cularly in the cold expofed parts of the country. 

It will grow furprifingly in the coldeft hills, and in the ftiffeft, , 
barren, and otherways worthlefs ground ; nor do I know any 
ufeful timber-tree, that maintains itfelf fo ftoutly againft the 
w:inds ; fo that, being-of quick growth, and clad in its numer^ 
oiis leaves all winter, it is certainly one of the fitteft plants to i 
nurfe and rear up other, valuable or delicate trees. 

The wood is white, tough, and flexible, is ufeful for many 
articles to the turner, for mill-cogs, (in which it excels the Yew- 
itfelf), flocks, and handles of tools, with many inflruments of 
hufbandry ; it is lafting fire-wood, and burns..as clear as a, candle. 

This likeways, of all trees yet known, beft preferves itfelf 
from thebruttings of deer; fo that clumps of them in deer-parks ^ 
would be no fmall improvement, both in point of beauty, and 1 
for. fhelter to thcfe. animals^ 



3F O R E S T » T R E E S, 59 



Chapter IX. 
The walnut TR EE. 

The Species an : 

1. The common Walnut. 

2. The large French Walnut, 

3. The thin-flieird Walnut, 

4. The double Walnut. 

5. The late-ripe Walnut. 

6. The hard-fliell'd Walnut. 

7. The Virginian black Walnut.. 

8. The Virginian black Walnut, with a long furrow'd 

fruit. 

9. The Hickory, or white Virginian Walnut. 

10. The fmall Hickory, or white Virginian Walnut. 



'R MILLER, in the Gardener's Dictionary, feems to be of 
opinion, that the firft-mentioned fix kinds are only feminal 
variations, and not diftincSl fpecies, as in rnoft other forts of fruit- 
trees ; and fays, the trees raifed from thefe different feeds, rarely 
produce the fame kinds of fruit again. This is a point I have- 
not lived long eno\igh to determine ; for tho' I have planted the 
feeds of all the fpecies of Walnuts (or names given them for fiich) 
I could procure, marking thefe fpecies or names diflincftly, I have 
jet reap'd very little fruit from them ; but one circumflance I am 

H 2 




■6© TREATISE on. 

^vcll afiiircd of, is, that the fruit of the fecond and third forts, 
commonly paffing under the names here given them, and of 
which I have feen and eat many, are feemingly very different, 
and much finer fruit than the others : Therefore, to make fure 
of the belt, at leafl for a gentleman's private ufe, I advife that 
thefe tv/o forts be inarched on the common Walnut, in Vv'hich 
they will fucceed and produce fruit in one third part of the time 
they would do from feeds, tho' the tree will not be either fo large 
or fo lafling. 

Of all trees the Walnut is one of the moft difficult to reduce 
to any regular uniform appearance ; it naturally grows in a ragged 
diforderly manner, and pruning it being deftrucStive, it defpifes 
the art and induftry of the gardener : With refpe6l then to its 
form and growth, we will leave it to nature, and only endeavour 
to point out fome aids that will mudi affifh her in the early and 
plentiful produ6lion of good fruit, and which unaffifled nature 
will be many years in effeding. 

Inarching the particular kinds you chufe, has already been 
mentioned ; but to make extenfive plantations for fruit, than 
which few improvements would in time give greater returns of 
gain, proceed as follows : 

Having procured a parcel of the largefl and beft-ripen'd nuts, 
of the fecond and third forts, from France, provide alfo a parcel 
of thin fiat flones, tyle-fherds, or flates, from a foot to eighteen 
inches broad ; lay them clofe together in lines, the length of the 
quarter in the nurfery intended to be planted with the mits ; bury 
them in the ground about eight inches deep, and plant your 



V O R E S T - T R E E S. 6i 



Walnuts fix inches afunder, and two inches deep, along the mid- 
dle part of thefe materials ; the tender roots thus meeting with 
oppofition, and unable to penetrate further, will fpread themfelves 
on the farface of the (tones, 6'c. but not having fo much nou- 
rilhment or moifture in dry weather as in the open ground, or 
as may be neceffary to make them grow freely, they will require 
frequent but gentle waterings, both the firfl and fecond fummer, 
during which time they muft remain. 

Having flood here two feafons, as early in the autumn as 
their leaves are decayed, and the flioots hardened, raife them 
carefully, and, without the fmallefl incifion on root or branch, 
plant them again fourteen or fixteen inches afunder, on the fame 
kind of bottom, or any other hard rubbifh that will not invite 
the roots downward. Thefe materials muft be funk three or four 
inches deeper, and fix or' eight inches broader than the former, 
to prevent the roots, having covered their bed, from running deep. 
At the end of two years, remove the earth from the roots of 
fome of the plants ; and if you find they have not near covered 
their bed, they may continue a third year ; but if they have, and 
are tending downward, they muft be removed : During all the 
time of their tontinuance here, they will require moderate wa- 
terings in dry weather. 

Repeat this pradlice once again, making their bedding about 
three feet broad, and the foil above fifteen or fixteen inches deep ; 
plant them at two feet afunder, and, as before, without pruning 
roots or bodies, further than the fmall branches near the root ; 
and if thefe are rab'd off with your, hand early in fummer, 
ivhile the fhoots are tender, it will be preferable to the moft fls.il- 



hz TREATISE o u 

£ul pruning : In this place, if the foil is rich, let them remain 
.three, or, if poor, fom' years. 

By this time the trees will be in a proper condition for re- 
moval to where they are defigned to remain for good, which, 
as they are chiefly intended for fruit, ought to be a dry found 
land, with a fandy, gravelly, or chalky bottom, but by no rneans 
in a deep heavy mould, where the roots would ftill tend down- 
ward, imbibe the crudities of an ingrateful foil, and get below 
the influences of the fun and rains, which would not only afFe6l 
the flavour of the fruit, but keep the trees much longer from be- 
coming fruitful. 

If they are planted by way of orchard, from thirty to thirty- 
five feet will be a reafonable diftance ; but why may we not 
plant them as they do in Burgundy, in their fields of wheat and 
other grain, at lixty or feventy feet diftance, which is fo far from 
hurting the crop, that they look on them as a great preferver of 
it, by keeping the ground warm in winter, neither do the roots 
hinder the plough ? and if the Burgundians find their flicker 
ufeful with them, how infinitely more fo mufi: it be in this cold 
ifland of ours ? But the advantages accruing from the general 
culture of this tree in Fiance, are not peculiar to that country 
alone ; for over great part of Germany, they find their gain from 
it fo great, that in many places a law lately fubfiAed, and I be- 
lieve does to this day, by which no young farmer is permitted to 
marry a wife, till he bring proof that he has planted, and is the 
father of a certain number of Walnut trees. The fruit will 
jipen perfedlly well in all the cultivated parts of Great Britain ; 
and the method of managing the trees, as here diredled, being 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 



63 



attended to, will make it higher flavoured, ripen it earlier in the 
feafon, and bear a plentiful crop twenty years fooner than it would 
otherways do cultivated in the ufual way. The belt manure for 
fruit-bearing Walnut trees, is, ftrewing over the furface of the 
ground with afhes the beginning of winter, the land having been 
plow'd, or otherways laboured, before that time. 

How much 'would fuch plantations improve the beauty and 
wealth of this nation ? and how greatly is it to be lamented, that 
men of fortune fo feldom undertake fuch noble public works, 
for a bleffing to the poor, the general good of the country, as 
well as their own private intereft ? as, by the common culture of 
this tree for fruit, large fums of money, annually fent abroad, 
would be faved in a few years, and that too at an inconfiderable 
expence. 

Th us having cliretSted the beft pra(fi;ice I know, for fuddenly 
procuring plentiful crops of Walnuts, it remains to confider the 
moll proper manner for cultivating the tree for timber. 

The Virginian kinds for this purpofe, but particularly the 
feventh and eighth forts, are mucll preferable to the others ; they 
grow fafter, and become larger and loftier trees, and the wood is 
alfo faid to be of a fuperiar quality, 

Th e Walnut tree is more impatient of tranfplanting than moft 
others , the top-roots, being of a pithy hollow texture, do not 
agree with cutting ; which, if it does not deftroy them altoge- 
ther, weakens them fo much, that they make little advance tor 
feveral years, and indeed never become ^vigoraus or coxixdj 
trees. 



64 TREATISE on 

TfJEREFORE, to have a plantation of them for timber, pro- 
cure a parcel of their nuts, of the feventh and eighth forts, from 
Virginia, which may eafily be had at a trifling expence ; and 
having prepared your ground, by a good deep plowing, digging, 
or, befl of all, trenching, the autumn before, in February plant 
your nuts in drills drawn out with the hoe, and cover them 
between two and three inches deep ; let the drills be five feet a- 
funder, and the nuts planted about eighteen inches diftant in the 
drill ; and as many of them are to remain, to fill the land pro- 
perly with tiinber-trees, let the ground be kept clean, by hoeing 
in fummer, and mellowed by digging before winter, for two 
years ; after which, you mufc carefully raife every fecond plant 
in the lines, without in the leaft difturbing what remains, which 
will leave them at a fuitable diflance for {landing four or five 
years longer. After the firft two years, the ground between the 
trees may be employed in crops of Turnip, Carrot, Beans, Cab- 
bages, and various other kitchen herbs ; which, if properly kept 
in order, will, from the culture the land receives, improve the 
growth, rather than injure the trees. From time to time, as 
they advance in ftature, the leaft promifing of them muft be 
taken av/ay, by cutting them below ground, to prevent hurting 
the roots of what remains ; and this muft be repeate^i, tho' not 
till their branches are near touching one another, as the ftanding 
moderately thick will promote their upright growth, till they 
are left at the diil:ance of about thirty feet. 

If you incline to fave the plants that were raifed at two years 
old, take them up with the greateft care, without wounding the 
fmalleft part of their roots, or bruifing their fibres, and imme- 
diately plant them out at full length, the fame diftances you did 



FOREST-TREES. 6^ 



rfie nuts, treating them afterwards in all refpeds after the fame 
manner as direded for them. 

Th o* it has been obferved, that pruning in general is hurt- 
ful to this tree, the branches as well as roots being of a fpungy 
hollow nature, yet, when it has been omitted to pinch off the 
yoimg tender flioots, fome degree of it will become necelTary, 
where branches that crofs each other, would deftroy themfelves, 
and injure the whole tree ; let fuch then be cut off fmooth, and 
clofe to the body, about the middle of September, that the wound- 
may heal, and be covered before the winter rains ; and that as 
little of this may be pradlifed as pofTible, let the plantation be 
annually examined, and all the young crofs- growing branches 
taken away, to prevent the neceffity of lopping old ones, vv^hich. 
is doubly hurtfLiL, 

The foil for the Walnut intended for wood, need neither be 
fo warm, or generous, as that for fruit. Indeed, v>diere large 
growth is the only motive, the whole fpecies delight moft in a. 
deep, found, rich-feeding land, on which, if it incline to marie in . 
the bottom, they will grow amazingly ; but, notwithftanding, 
they v^ill fucceed, and make goodly trees, in any ordinary foil 
that has a competent deptli of mould, tho' coarfc and floney : I 
have likewife feen many flately trees of them on clay. 

The value of the wood, for chairs, bed-fl<!ads, tables, wainf- 
coting of rooms, cabinets, gun-flocks, ^t. is univerfally. 
known, 

I 



66 TREATISE 



C H A P T E R X. 

The C H E S N U T TREE. 

The Species are : 

1. The common or Spanifli ,Ch esnut. 

2. The ftrip'd Chesnut. . - 

3. The Chinquapin, or dwarf Virginian Chesnut,. 

THIS much neglecfled, tho' graceful and. magnificent tree, hjv 
attending to its proper culture, for fruit, timber, and copfe- 
wood, might, in a few years, become among the greateft advan- 
tages this country can reap by planting : I jfhall therefore be 
particular in dire6ling the beft methods I know, of propagating 
them for thefe different purpofes. 

To raife them for fruit, procure a parcel of the nuts from 
Portugal or Spain ; pic4c out the largefl, plumpefl, and brownefl 
of them ; the goodnefs of theTeed is known by its weight, to 
try which, throw them into a tub of water ; reject fuch as fwim, 
but thofe that link you may be fare are good ; preferve them 
in dry land till the beginning of March, v/hen, having prepared 
a fpot of loofe mellow ground, fow them in drills made with the 
hoe, three inches deep, the drills about fourteen inches afunder, 
and the nuts fix inches in the drill, where, as they fhoot freely, 
I would advife that they, only remain one year. 

In February, or early in March following, which, from re-> • 
peated experience, I prefer to the autumnal planting of thefe 



F O R E S r - T R E E S. 



trees, remove them to another quarter ; fliortcn then- top-roots 
witha fliarp knife, fmooth and cleart, fparing their fpreadlng fibres, 
and keeping them as fliort time as pofTible out of the ground, to 
keep thefe fibres frelh, and prevent their moulding ; plant them 
in lines, two and a half feet afunder, and one foot diftance in 
the line, keeping them clean in fummer, and pointing over tliC' 
ground between the lines fpring and autumn, when any crofs 
ill-placed branches may be pruned off ; and in this Htuation 
let them remain two years. 

Remove them carefully, by taking up their whole fibres, to 
another frefla quarter of the nurfery, ftill obferving to fliorten 
their top-roots, to cut off fuch as crofs each other, and fmooth 
the ends of the fpreading ones, which will now be ftronger and 
more numerous ; at the fame time, prune away any ill-placed 
branches from their bodies and tops ; which being done, plant 
them in lines four feet afunder and two feet diftance in the 
line, where, managing them in other refpedls as directed for 
the former nurfery, let them continue three years. 

By this time thefe trees will be of a proper age and fize, ei- 
ther for ornamental plantations in avenues, clumps in parks, the 
wildernefs, or in the orchard way for fruit ; but it may be ne- 
ceifary here to obferve, that the fhade of the Chefnut, like that of 
theAfh, is obnoxious to other plants, and that they fliould therefore 
be placed in thickets, or other detached plantations, by themfelves. 

Th e ground intended for a confiderable plantation of fruit- 
bearijig Chefnut trees, fhould have three or four plowings the 
preceding fummer and winter ; and if one good digging is ad- 
ded a Uttle before planting, it will be a great improvement to 

I 2 



^68 



T R E A T I S E o N 



the foil, as I liold the labour of the fpade to be of all others the 
befl. This being done, your trees carefully raifed, their roots 
and bodies propei'ly pruned, plant them in ftraight rows, fix feet 
diftant every way ; let the "ground be annually dug, to encou- 
rage the fpreading of their roots, and, at this diftance, they may 
remain till the branches begin to approach each other, when 
you muft take up, by the roots, every fecond row entirely, and 
every fecond plant in the row remaining, which will leave them 
at twelve feet diftance ; and -the wood of the trees taken ud, will 
be highly ufeful for many purpofes of gardening and farming. 
Having dug or half-trenched the land, (for deep trenching 
would increafe the growth, but retard the fertility), it may, for 
fome years, if of a good quality, be profitably employed in Pota- 
toes, Cabbages, Turnips, and many other crops, which, by 
digging in the leaves of the Chefnuts, when rotted, (the beft of 
all manure for them), will,- inftead of exhaufting, annually invi- 
gorate the foil, and improve the plantations both for fruit and 
timber. Thefe trees having flood till their branches begin to 
meet as formerly, muft again be reduced in the fame proportion 
the others were, which will leave them at twenty-four feet di- 
ftance CA^ery way, and at which diftance they may remain for 
good. The wood of this laft felling will faw into fmall boards, 
and, being now abotit twenty years old, muft be rooted out en- 
tirely, to prevent impoverifing the land, and robbing the trees 
of ~tla.eir proper nouriftiment, which, as the Chefnut flioots vi- 
goroufly after cutting over, muft neceffarily be the cafe. The 
-timber of thefe taken up, being of fize for feveral ufeful purpofes, 
will bring a confiderable price from the joiner, cabinet-maker, 
<6^r. and the remaining trees, which already have produced 
fruit for feveral years, will henceforward bear vaft quantities, 
and make great returns of profit to the owner. 



F OR EST-TREES. 



69 



Thus having direcfled fuch. a culture for the Chefimt, as, 
judicioufly pradlifed, will afluredly produce abundant crops of 
large well-flavoured fruit, much fooner than the.ti'ee abandoned 
to nature would have done, I lhall proceed to thofe intended 
for timber and copfe-wood, the propagation of .which will be 
attended with little trouble or expence. 

Let the field intended for this plantation, which requires 
not being either warm or rich, be fallowed the preceding fum- 
mer, and get tvv^o or three good deep plowings in winter, to 
fweeten and pulverife the foil, and to deftroy all root- weeds. 
Having procured and tried your feeds, as formerly mentioned for 
the fruit-bearing trees, make drills acrofs the ground with a 
hoe, four feet diftance, and put in your nuts, with the point or 
eye upwards, at fourteen or iixteen inches afunder, filling up 
the drills, and raking the furface fmooth ; and for this, and the 
following year, you may take a line of Beans betv>^een the drills, 
which, having their tops cut oft, and being kept clean, will be a 
protedlion to the young plants, and encourage their growth. At 
the end of two years, early in the fpring as has been faid, re- 
move every fecond plant in the rows, which will leave them a- 
bout two feet and a half afunder, and at this diftance let them 
remain three years. With the plants taken up as above, I mean 
the two years old, you may make any plantation required. 

At the end of the three years, remove by the roots, fo as 
not to hurt the plants that are to continue, every fecond row of 
trees, and every fecond tree in the remaining row, which will 
leave them at the diftance of eight feet by five. The plants 
now raifed will have carroty roots, and few fibres ; fo are not 
worth planting again, but will be ufeful for ftakes and poles. 



70 TREATISE on 

Xefl", by rooting out the unnecefTarj trees, any of tliofe tliat 
are to remain fliould be loofened, or their roots hurt, let 
the holes be filled up immediately, the ground well dug, any 
kitchen- crop taken, and the trees remain untouched another 
year ; when, in February, cut them over, referving only one of 
the fcraighteil and moft vigorous, at the diftance of twenty-five 
to thirty feet : You may flill continue to work the ground, and 
take dwarf- crops between the rows for two years more ; 
after which, they will foon cover it, and muft be left to na- 
ture. One will readily obferve, that when any of the feeds have 
failed at the due diftances here prefcribed, thefe defedls 
are to be fupplied by the befl; plants, taken up at two years 
old. 

Thus you have a plantation, the copfe-wood of which only 
will, in feven years more, that is, fifteen years from the feed, 
produce more than double the rent and labour, and, every 
feven or eight years, will coniiderably increafe for forty or iifty 
to come, when you have a foreft of noble timber- trees, that of 
themfelves will be worth more than the value of the land at 
the higheft purchafe-price. The timber-trees here will likewife 
produce fruit, but neither in fuch abundance, or of fo good a 
(Quality, as thofe that have been tranfplanted ftanding at due 
diflances, and vs^here the ground has been properly cultivated ; 
for tranfpl anting promotes frudification, as, from the roots 
fpreading near the furface, the juices are better prepared and 
digefted by the fun and air, and, of courfe, their fruits better 
matured, and higher flavoured, than thofe can be w^hofe roots 
run deep into the cold, lluggifli, and unprepared earth, from 
whence they muft necefTarily ijaibibe great quantities of crud-e 



0 

1? O R E S T - T R E E S. 71 



and unwholefome juices, which will naturally be communicated 
to the fruit.. 

Th e ftrip'd Chefnut is amongft the moft beautiful of all the 
variegated trees, and, when mixed with other (IripM plants, has 
a moft agreeable and chearful effec^l, the blotches being of a 
rich fhining gold colour, ftrongly mark'd. This is ufualiy pro- 
pagated by budding, or inarching it on the plain fore, thoiigh I 
have raifed many of them by common grafting. 

"The Chinquapin, or dwarf kind, abounds in the woods of 
America, where it produces abundance of nuts, which may ea- 
fily be brought here with fafety, by mixing them with dry fand, 
and which all the nut kinds from far diftant countries ought 
to be, though, by not adverting to this fimple and eafy prefer- 
vative, we generally loofe the greateft part of them. It: grows 
in its native foil to about fourteen or fixteen feet high, and is 
hardy enough to bear our fevereft winters. This may be pro- 
pagated by its feeds as the common Chefnut, or, when thefe 
cannot be procured, by inarching on it, which will increafe its ., 
magnitude. . 

The fruit of the Chefnut tree is not only ufed for many ele- 
gant dilhes in France and Italy, but is found ftrong and health- 
ful food for labouring people, either made into bread, or prepa- 
red as they do in various ways abroad : For all which purpofes, 
we might in a few years have abundance of them, as well as 
for feeding our hogs, which would highly improve both the 
tafte and quality of our bacon, and render it as good as from 
Virginia, or any other country we know: It Vv'-ould alfo.much 
reduce its price, and bring it within the 'reach of labouring men.>. 



72 TREATISE ON 

The leaves of this tree make excellent litter for cattle, which, 
when mixed with their dung, (particularly that o^^ cows well 
rotted), is an admirable manure for many kinds of flowers, 
o-reen-houfe, hot-houfe, and other delicate plants. 

Th e beft ground for fruit-bearing Chefnuts, is a loofe moift 
(though not wet) gravel or fand : They will likewife fucceed in 
any ordinary mixt foil, which, if it abound with fmall round 
ftones, fliould not be taken away, as, from their warmth, they 
will cherifii and forward the ripening of the. fruit. 

For plantations of timber-trees, and copfe-wood, you can; 
hardly go amifs, fo. there be depth of foil, and no Handing wa~ 
ter ; they will grow on obftinate clay, and. the bleakeft declivi- 
ties of hills, this_tree, where fruit is not aimed at, being more, 
patient of cold than heat. 

The wood is ufeftil for many eifential purpofes : It makes, 
o-ood tables, chairs, and bed-fteads ; is the mofl lafting poles, 
of any put in the ground with the rind on, for efpaliers, pali- 
fade hedges, dead fences, vine and hop yards, and for pipes 
to convey water under ground : It vs^ill lait longer than Elm, or 
even Oak itfelf. In Italy, the beft caflcs for wine and other 
liquors are made of this wood, which has the fmgular proper- 
ty, when thoroughly feafoned, of maintaining its bulk, without 
.'Qirinking or fvvelling, which moft other timber does ; and formerly 
was built of it, great part of the antient city of London,, near 
which were large forefts of Chefnut trees, which, whether or: 
not a native of this iiland, is not well determined.. 



FOREST-TREES. 73 



\ 

Chapter XI. 
The HORSE-CHESNUT TREE. 

The Species are : 

1. The common Horse-Chesnut. 

2. The yellow blotched Horse-Chesnut. 

3. The white blotched Horse-Chesnut. 

4. The fcarlet flowering Horse-Chesnut, 

THE firft mentioned fort, though a native of Conflantinople, 
defies the greateft feverity of our winters, and foon be- 
comes a large tree. The nnts of it may be fown as directed for 
the Sweet Chefnut, and, like it, fliould only remain one year 
in the feed-bed. 

In February, or early in March following, having reduced 
their top-roots, plant them in lines, three feet afunder, and at 
fifteen inches diftance in the line, where let them remain three 
years. 

To make them a proper fize for avenues, or clumps in parks, 
and lawns, remove them to another quarter ; drefs the roots 
properly, and prune fome of the under branches, with any others 
that are crofs, too thick, or ill-placed ; but beware of the large 
bud at the extremity of the leadmg branch, in which is inclofed 

K 



74 T R E A T I S E o. n 

the flioot ill embryo for the fucceeding feafon : Plant them irti 
lines, fix. feet afmider, and two and a half feet in the line. In 
this fituation they may continue three, but not above four years, , 
when, in an ordinary foil, the plants will be from twelve, to ; 
fo.urteeji or fifteen feet highs , 

The fecond and third forts may be propagated by budding; 
them on the common kind, on which they take freely. . 

The fcarlet-fldwering Horfe-Chefnut is a beautiful plant, and , 
produces a very rich and elegant flower. It is a native of Ame- 
rica, but is hardy enough , to bear, our climate, in ordinary litua- 
tions, when four or five years old, though it is fomewhat more 
delicate than the common in infancy : Therefore, having procu- 
red their nuts, (which you may, eafily do from South Carolina, 
where they grow abundantly) fbw them as dire6led for the com- 
mon kind, but in a warm fheltered fituation, and in a rich loofe 
fweet mould ; and remove them the fucceeding fpring to a fitua- 
tion and foil of the fame quality, where they may remain three 
years, when they will have acquired flrength enough to put up 
with common ufage. This tree,, iin America, grows to the height 
of thirty feet, but I have not feen any in Britain of near that 
fize, and I doubt, it will, never arrive at that ftature with us; 
notwithftanding which, it is well worth our cultivation, and 
has a fine effect in the wildernefs, planted .with trees of the fame 
growth, , 

This may alfo' be budded or inarched on the common kihdj, 
but they will neither make fo handfome plants, nor ever grow to^ 
it^ar the fize of thofe raifed from feeds, . 



V O R E S T - T R E E S. 



The Horfe-Chefnut is a tree of fingular beauty when in 
bloom ; and the common fort of it, which will fucceed in almoft 
all foils, (tho' beft in that which is deep) is proper enough to in- 
termix in ornamental plantations, in a flickered country ; but 
in bleak and expofed fituations, it is idle to plant them, as, from 
the wood being very brittle, every impetuous wind will break 
and disfigure more or lefs of them. 

Th e fruit is fo extremely bitter, that even hogs will not eat it, 
though the Turks mix it with other food for their horfes that 
have coughs, or are broken-winded, for which it is faid to be 
an excellent remedy. 

The timber, except for fuel, aniwers no valuable purpofe I 
know, further than I have heard from a gentleman of much 
knowledge and obfervation on the qualities of wood, that it is 
very proper for pipes, to convey water under grounxl, and, in 
ithat fituation, will laft longer than many harder woods. 



K 2 



76 



TREATISE 



Chapter XII. 
The L a R I X, or LARCH TREE. 

H E Larch tree is propagated from feeds ; but the proper 
-* way to procure thefe feeds good, is not generally known, 
at leaft I am certain it is very rarely attended to. The common 
method is, to gather their cones in the autumn ; and having 
half-roafted them in a kiln, a ftove, or on a hearth before the 
fire, then fplitting the cones, and picking out the feeds with a 
knife or other fharp inftrument, they with difficulty get part of 
them, though, by this pradtice, many of the plumped and beft 
ripened feeds are bruifed. I proceeded in this way myfelf for 
feveral years, without fuccefs fuitable to the labour, and ex- 
pence., I fowed the feeds, with attention, in different foils and 
fituations, and repeated a variety of experiments, but flill had 
thin crops in proportion to the quantity of feeds, till at laft I 
difcovered my error: I fhall therefore, from experience, direct 
a method, by obferving which, thefe feeds may be procured as 
good, and the plants be raifed in the fame abundance, and with 
the fame eafe, as the common kinds of Fir and Pine. 

I FOUND, that tho' the cones of the Larch tree are at their full 
fize in auttimn, the greateft part of the feeds they contain are not 
then arrived near their maturity, and that they ripen hanging on 
the trees during even the coldefl winter months. Thefe feeds are 
inclofed in fo hard and thick a covering, that the fevereft feafons 



'i 



FOREST-TREES. 



cannot afPedl them ; therefore I deferred gatliering the cones tili 
the months of March or April, when they eafily part with the 
tree, and many of them drop from it, v/hich arc flill better than 
thofe plucked. The cones thus procured, fully ripe, fliould be 
fpread in a dry covered place, till the weather become warm, in 
May or June, when they ought to be expofed on glafs-cafes at 
the bottom of windows fronting the fouth, or any other way 
moft convenient, fo as to receive the warmefh influences of the 
fun : This muft be repeated (taking them into a warm place 
every evening before the dews fall) for feveral weeks, when the 
cones will open, and many of the beft feeds come out, by fliaking 
them in a wire fieve ; but as all of them will not, therefore fplit 
the cones afunder, by driving a fmall piece of fliarp iron through 
the center, from the bottom to the top of them : Let thefe be a- 
gain expofed to the fun for a fev/ days, when many more feeds 
will lhake out, and all that is good of them feparate from tlie 
huflc, or be eafdy pick'd off with the point of a knife. t 

Tho' the feeds of thefe trees in the cone are good for {pur or 
five years, yet, when divefted of that, they lofe their gro-wing 
quality in a few months ; therefore, as foon as they are got out, 
let them be mixed with fine dry fand, and preferved in bags till 
the feafon of fowing. 

In the beginning of March, or as fopn after as the weatl^er v/ill 
permit, having prepared a fliady border, expofed only to the mor- 
ning fun, of loofe, mellow, rich ground, fow your feeds very thin 
in beds three and a half feet broad, vAth alleys of eighteen inches ; 
clap the feeds gently into the bed with the back of a fpade, fo 
as, by making it fmooth and level, it may receive an equal cover- 



78 TREATISE o 'n 

jng, and fift over tliem not more than a quarter of an incli of 
fine compoft earth, mixed with one-fourth part of fea-fand, or, 
failing that, the fined pit- land you can procure. If the weather is 
dry, and not frofty, in a fortnight after fowing, give them gentle 
waterings in the evening of every fourth or fifth day, and in 
fix weeks they will begin to appear above ground. As thefe 
plants come \ip with the feeds on their top, v/hich the birds are 
very fond of, care mufc be taken to guard them from thofe ene- 
mies, who will otherways deftroy all or mod of them, but which 
may eafily be prevented, by driving a few fork'd flakes round the 
beds,' and throwing a net or other thin covering over them. The 
plants being fairly above ground, muft now be refreflied with a lit- 
tle water every fecond or third night, for three weeks, when it does 
not rain : But this muft be- given with care, and as lightly as pof- 
ble, with a watering-pot that has fmall holes in the rofe of it ; 
for thefe plants, tho' afterwards amongft the hardieft trees, are, 
in their infant ftate, very delicate ; and heedlefsly dafhing on the 
water from a coarfe watering-pot, would deftroy great numbers 
of them. The waterings, as directed after the feeds appear, muft 
be continued, tho' only once in ten or twelve days, increafing 
the quantity when the weather is hotter than ufual, till the 
end of Auguft, 

The weeds, at their firft appearance, muft be carefully pick'd 
out, as otherways, in a few days, it will be impoflible to do it 
without bringing many of the plants alongft with them. 

It may probably be objecled, by fuch as make no diftin(5lion 
in the quality of plants, that I have directed unneceflary trouble 
.and expeace in the culture of this hardy tree, which is now 



FOR EST-TREES. 



ralfed in fuch abundance with lefs ceremony : To wliicli I fhall 
only anfwer, that, in point of expence, this method is much the 
cheapeft, as one pound of feed will produce more than ten pouiids 
in the common wafteful way it is treated ; and, what is yet of 
much higher importance, one thoufand. plants, thus cidtivated, 
are of more real value than ten thoufand,. fuch as are ufually pro- 
cured from ignorant nurferymen. 

The end of March, or beginning of April following, thefe 
plants may be removed from the feed-bed to the nurfery ; and 
their roots being fhortened, laid in rows, about fifteen inches di- 
ftant, and fix or feven inches afunder in the row, watering them 
at planting, which may be continued once a week, in dry wea- 
ther, for five or fix weeks, when they will be paft danger ; and 
here they ought only to continue one feafon. 

At the fame time the fucceeding year, remove them to another 
nurfery, but now be fparing of their roots, taking away only 
fuch as crofs each other, with fome of the ftraggling hairy fibres, 
and fmoothing the extremity of the long ones ; plant them in 
rows, at three feet diftance, and fifteen or fixteen inches in the 
row ; water them when planted, keep them clear of weeds du- 
ring the fummer, dig the ground between the rows in autumn, 
and fpring, and, in this fituation, let them remain two years. 

By this time, in an ordinary foil, the trees will be from five to 
fix feet high, and of a proper iize to tranfplant in large quan- 
tities, and, in expofed fituations, on meagre hungry ground ; but 
where beauty and fhelter are immediately required in plantations 
near the houfe, provifion ought to be made of larger plants-s ; 



8o TREATISE on 

Therefore, for this, or fimilar pnrpofes, let fuch a quantity of 
thefe trees as may probably be wanted, be removed to another 
nurfery, and planted at the diflance of eight feet by fix, (till be- 
ing fparing of the roots, which do not, like many other Forefl- 
trees, admit of being much reduced or wounded ; particularly, 
when large, let them be plentifully watered at removal, dig the 
ground about them as formerly mentioned, and here let them 
remain three years. 

Th ese trees will now be from ten to twelve feet high, and of a 
very proper fize to remove for ornament, fhade, and ihelter, where 
meant to remain for good, which may be accompliflied without 
any great labour or expence. The plants, thus far advanced, 
fliould be removed earlier in the fpring than has been diredled 
for the youger ones, which, in ordinary temperate feafons, may 
be beft performed about the end of February, or early in March. 
At this time raife them carefully, without injuring any of the 
principal roots, and only fmooth the extremities of the fmall ones 
Vv^ith a fliarp knife, letting as much of the earth as poffible ad- 
here to them ; pour in a large watering pot-ful of water into 
the pit before the tree is placed in it, another after the roots are ' 
half covered, and a third after all the earth is properly gathered 
about it. If the feafon is moift, thefe plants will require no far- 
ther trouble ; but in cafe of long-continued hot and dry weather, 
they ought to be watered once a fortnight in thin dry foil, or 
every third week where it is deep and found, and this repeated 
two, three, or four times, more or lefs as the weather requires 
it ; but, in giving them water, do not pour it clofe on the 
trunk of the tree, but make a drill round it with the hoe, about 
a foot from it, into vv^hich pour the water gently, and draw the 
earth again over it when the water has foked in. 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 81 



Most of the Larch trees we fee, thofe excepted tliat are fhel- 
tered by higher plantations, decline much frorn the fouth-wefl 
winds ; the great caufe of which is, not confulting their genius, 
but unfldlfully pruning them. This plant, eflabliflied in a foil it 
likes, (nor indeed is it nice in its choice) will make prodigious 
fhoots ; thefe fhoots are extremely heavy and flexible when 
young, which being the cafe, when any number of the fide- 
branches are cut away, the length of the leading fhoot is increa- 
fed, the body becomes flender, and the tree naturally bends with 
its own weight, and grows obliquely ; nor in the Larch tree is 
this to be redrefTed by any art, as nothing but reducing the 
height in any tree can afFe6l a cure, and which, tho' to many is 
an improvement, yet to this is certain deftru6lion : I there- 
fore, from experience, advife, that not a fingle branch be taken 
from this tree, except fuch as by accident may have been broken 
or bruifed, till they are fifteen or fixteen feet high ; nor would 1 
chufe any pruning at all, were it not to clear the furface of the 
ground, fo as to admit the rays of the fun, to diffipate noxious va- 
pours : But as this may fometimes be neceffary, when they have 
arrived at the height mentioned, the lowed tire of branches may 
then be cut off clofe and fmooth about the middle of October, the 
following year a fecond tire, and the fucceeding a third. This 
will be clearing the trunk to about four or five feet high, higher 
than which they fhould never be pruned, to make them well pro- 
portioned ftraight trees, capable of refifting the winds, which, 
with this culture, they effecflually will ; befides, as they natu- 
rally grow in a regular pyramidal form, their greateft beauty is 
loft when divefted of their branches. 

This is a noble and valuable plant ; the bright. red blofioms.it 
produces in the fpring, are both beautiful and fragrant, and the ' 

L 



82 TREATISE on 



proper culture of it claims our particular attention, for many 
reafons. It is a native of the Alpine and Pyrenean mountains', 
and loves an elevated fituation : It will become a ftately tree in 
the pooreft hungry fand and gravel, and on the higheft and 
bleakefl hills, where there is but a few inches of foil ; in fhort, it 
rejeds no quality of earth that is dry, but in wet lands it will 
not fucceed. 

The many encomiums beftowed both by antient and modem 
authors on the virtues of this tree, and the great value of its 
timber, would take up many pages, and exceed the bounds al- 
lotted for this work : I fhall therefore only enumerate a few of 
the beft attefted circumftances, but which may be fufficient to 
recommend it to all judicious planters and others, lovers of their 
country. 

From the wounded bark of this tree, exudes the pureft Venice 
turpentine ; and on the body and branches, grows the Agaric, a 
drug ufed in medicine. The famous architedl, Scamozie, built 
m.any of the moft faperb palaces in Venice of it, and highly 
commends it ; and Vitruvius laments that they had not enough 
of it in Rome for joifls, and other parts that require both 
ftrength and beauty in houfes, as well as from its property of 
long renfting fire. The Forum of Auguftus v/as built of this 
material, as were fundry magnificent bridges by Tiberius. Pofcs 
of it driven into the ground become almoft as hard as iron, and 
will bear an incredible weight. It bears the fmootheft polifli- 
ing, and is fo exceedingly tranfparent, l^hat rooms wainfcotted 
■with it, will make people at a diftance, when candles are light- 
ed, imagine the whole room on fire. Nor was it ufed for thefe 



F O R E S T - T H E E S. 83 



purpofes only, but in building of fhips alfo ; and Witfen, a 
Dutch writer on naval architecture, mentions a fliip, thirty- 
feet in length, to have been found not long fince in the Numi- 
dian fea, twelve fathoms under water, chiefly built of this tim- 
ber, and Cyprefs, both reduced to that hardnefs as to refift the 
fliarpefl; tools ; nor was any part perifhed, though it had lain 
fourteen hundred years fubmerged. It makes the beft palats 
for painters to feparate their colours on ; and it was on boards 
of the Larch, that Raphael, and the moft famous artifts of that 
time, eternized their Ikill, before the ufe of canvas v/as intro- 
duced. 

Is it not amazing, then, that thoufands who have it in their 
power, will not be at a moderate expence in planting a parcel 
of fmall twigs of this plant, on barren heaths, or cold and rug- 
ged hills, which, in a few years, would not only adorn, and, by 
the warmth they would afford, really improve the adjacent 
country, but, in lefs than an age, inrich their families ? 



84 TREATISE o 



Chapter XIII, 
The Virginian TULIP T RE E. 

THIS tree is common in Virginia, and is to be found in 
mod of the northern continent of America, from whence 
the cones are annually brought in abundance to Britain.. 

Authors dirc(5l thefe feeds to be fown in pots, and placed 
on a hot-bed ; and when the plants are a year old, each to be 
planted in feparate fmall pots, and again plunged into another 
hot-bed ; after which, they are ftill to be kept in pots, and un- 
der frames in winter, for three or four years longer, till they 
have acquired ftrength. This method I followed in my early 
pradice, and no doubt it will both raife and preferve them aUve 
for that time : But there is no occafion for treating this tree with 
fo much delicacy, even in infancy : I fhall therefore diredl an 
eafier and cheaper way of cultivating it, founded on experience, 
which, in an ordinary foil, and flickered fituation, will make 
much ftronger and hardier plants, and by that means fooner 
prepare them for removal to the places where they are meant to 
remain for good. 

The beginning of March, prepare a bed of good mellow rich 
earth, well mixt with old rotted cow-dung, expofed to the fun, 
and flickered from cold winds ; place an old frame over the 
bed, and fow your feeds, fifting over them, about half an inch 



FOREST-TREES. S5 



thick, a foil compofecl fome months at leafh before, of one load 
of old pafture- earth, one of well-rotted cow-dung, and half a 
load of fea or fine pit-fand. Some of thefe feeds will probably 
make their appearance in nine or ten weeks, but much the great- 
er part of them will lye in the ground till next fpring ; I would 
therefore advife giving the beds no more water than barely fuffi- 
cient to cherilh the plants that have appeared, which, for four 
or five weeks after, Ihould be fcreen'd from the fun during the 
heat of the day, but which afterwards fliould receive its full in- 
fluence. 

These circumftances being obferved, no further care is ne- 
ceifary this year, but clearing the ground of weeds as foon as 
they appear j and in winter, in violent lafling ftorms, throw 
double mats over the frame, which muft be regularly taken off 
on the weather's growing mild. 

In March, the fucceeding year, carefully pick off with your 
fingers all molTy, hard, and crufled earth, from the bed ; fmooth 
it again, and fift on a quantity proportioned to that taken a- 
way, of the fame kind of mould as formerly ; and about the end 
of April, or beginning of May, if your feeds have been good, 
the plants will appear in abundance, when they mufl be fre- 
quently but gently refreflied with water, lightly given as di- 
reded for the Larch. From this time, till the beginning of 
Auguft, they ought to be fcreened from the mid-day fim ; but 
this I would not do by covering the bed with mats, as is com- 
monly pradlifed, which draws the plants, and renders them ten- 
der ; but rather do it with part of an old reed fence, or, for 
want of that, and which indeed is ftill better, nail fome thin 



/ 



86 TREATISE on 

boards together, the length of the frame, high enough to fliade 
the furface of the bed from the meridian fun. By thus fhading 
the plants, and letting them enjoy all the open air, though they 
will not grow fo tall, yet will they be thicker bodied, and more 
hardy. When this has been performed, no further care is ne- 
cefTary in this htuatlon, but frequent moderate waterings in an 
evening, and throwing a mat over the. frame duriiig any.fevere 
winter- floniio 

About the beginning of April, next feafon, (for this tree is 
late in expanding its leaves), prepare a fpot of ground, in the 
fame manner, and of the fame quality w^ith that directed for the 
feeds ; raife the plants carefully with a trowel, without bruiling 
their roots, w^hich are foft and fpungy ; and if they cannot be 
immediately planted, mix a pale-ful of fifted mould and water 
to the confiilence of pap, through which draw the plants one by 
one, till as much adhere as cover their roots and fibres. This 
will prevent their drying, and in this condition they may fafely 
be tranfported to a confiderable diftance, and kept feverai days 
out of the ground. The roots-of this tree do not admit of be- 
ing much reduced ; therefore, at this time, cut only a little of the 
top-root fnioothly off, but let all the fibres remain, and then, 
ftill in a Iheltered fituation, plant them in drills cut out with 
the fpade, at a foot diftance line from line, and fix inches in the 
line. Plant five of thefe lines, which will make a bed four feet 
wide ; and- if you have more beds than one, lea.ve an alley three 
feet wide between them ; let tliem be frequently (and more plen- 
tifully than formerly) watered in the evenings, during the fum- 
mer months ; after which, keeping them clear of weeds, throw- 
ing a mat over them, in cafe of very fevere froft, for the firft 



F- O R E S T - T R E E S. 87 



winter, and loofening the ground between the beds in fpring, 
they will require no farther attention in this plantation, where 
they fliould remain only two years. 

From thefe beds the plants may be removed to another nur- 
fery of any good mellow deep foil : Be ftill fparing of their roots, 
and plant them in rows, three feet and a half diftance, and 
eighteen inches afunder in the row ; keep the ground clean and 
mellow by labour, as has been \lirec5led, giving them plentifal 
waterings in dry weather, during the firft fummer, and let them 
continue here three years. 

The culture directed having been obferved, thefe trees will 
now be hardy enough to defy the affaults of our fevered win- 
ters, and, being about fix or feven feet high, will be of a good 
fize for planting where they are defigned to remain. In a 
generous deep foil, interfperfed with other trees, but not crowded 
too near them, they will in a few years arrive at a great magni- 
tude ; but in thin and hungry land, they make fmall progrefs, 
though they will flower fooner. 

In America, they often grow on moifc fwampy ground ; and 
in fuch rhave planted them here, but without fuccefs, owing, 
I fuppofe, to our long wet winters rotting their tender roots 
and fibres. 

They do not, like many other Forefl-trees, admit of bcin^- 
planted to advantage at a great fize, but they might undergo an- 
other remove more than has been here mentioned, to the height 
of ten or twelve feet, which I have done with great fuccefs. 



88 TREATISE 



I know of no tree, that pruning either roots or branches has 
worfe efFedls on than this, which often kills, or otherways irre- 
coverably fhunts them, as I have often found by fad experience ; 
therefore the plants fhould be reduced to the form you dehre, in 
the nurfery, by rubbing ojfF all ill-placed buds, or, with your 
finger and thumb, pinching away the improper branches foon 
after their appearance, while young and tender, more than 
which pruning they ought never to have. 

This is a plant of extraordinary beauty and ftatelinefs, and 
highly deferves a place in all noble and elegant plantations. 
There is a tree of it in the gardens of the Earl of" Peterborough, 
at Parfons-green, near London, which I faw in full bloom for 
feveral years fuccelTively : It is above fifty feet high, and the 
trunk in proportion, and would have been much larger, but that 
having been planted in a wildernefs quarter, it was long negledl- 
ed, and injured by its branches being overhung, and the roots 
intangled with other trees, which prevented its receiving due 
nourifliment. Mr Catelby, in his Natural Hiftory of Carolina, 
mentions trees of it in America,, thirty feet circumference in the 
trunk, and the timber is highly valued by the Americans for its 
Jlrength and duration. 



9 



FORES T - TREES. 



85 



Chapter XIV. 
^ The acacia TREE. 

The Species are: 

1. The common or Virginian Acacia. 

2. The American Acacia, with triple thorns, commonly 

called the Locust Tree in the Weft-Indies. 

3. The Water Acacia, from Carolina. 

' I ^ HERE are above thirty different fpecies of this plant, that 
A have been brought from Africa and America, but moft 
•of them are tender, and require the protedlion of the green- 
houfe or ftove, and are foreign to a Treatife on Foreft-trees for 
this climate ; therefore 1 have only mentioned three kinds, which 
are hardy enough to bear our fevereft winters, and become large 
trees^ 

Th e firft fort is propagated by fowing its feeds the beginning 
of March, on a bed of well-prepared mellow foil, fliaded from 
the mid-day fun, which, in five or fix weeks, will appear above 
ground, when they muft be frequently watered in the evenings, 
during the hot and dry weather, and the weeds deftroyed at 
their firft appearance. 

About the beginning of April the following fpring, remove 
them from the feed-bed to the nurfery, be fparing of their roots, 

M 



' TREATISE o n 

and plant them in lines, two feet diflant, and a foot afunder in: 
the line, watering them at planting, and three or four times 
foon after if the weather is dry,, when they will require no fur- 
ther trouble than keeping the ground clean, and digging it be- 
tween the lines in the fpring of the two following feafons, being; 
to remain here two years. 

From this nurfery they may be tranfpl anted to where they- 
are meant to remain for good ; but if delired larger, they may 
undergo one other remove, and be planted in lines, three feet 
and a half diftant, and eighteen inches in the line, treating 
them as formerly : But here they rnufl continue only two years 
for as thefe plants do not naturally produce fpreading roots, 
and not agreeing either with thefe, or the branches being much 
cut, but rather that they fliould grow in a ragged diforderly 
manner, with heavy tops, they do not properly admit of being 
planted when large. 

The fecond and third forts, though they will alfo rife in the 
open ground, are yet fomewhat fhyer, and will appear fooner, 
and make better flioots, being alTifted with a very moderate hot- 
bed, on which they may be fown the middle of February. When 
the feeds appear, give them very gentle but frequent waterings, 
and let the frames be raifed all the day-time, that the plants 
may have plenty of air ; fcreen them from the mid-day fun till 
about the beginning of Angufl, when the frames may be remo- 
ved till the winter's frofl fet in, and when they lliould be again 
replaced, but the glaffes always drawn off in mild weather. 

The fucceeding fpring, in the beginning of April, remove 
thefe plants, and treat them as has been diredcd for the Tulip— 



F O K E S T - T R E E S. 91 



tree ; with this clifFcrence only, that if you chufe to remove them 
twice, they ought only to remain two years after the fecond 
tranfplantation. 

All the l^:inds of Acacias are much improved in their form, 
by thrufting ftraight ftakes into the ground befide them, to which 
the leading flioot Ihould be loofely tied with bafs. 

The firft-mentioned fort of thefe trees was formerly much 
nfed in England for planting avenues, but for which purpofe 
I know few plants more improper, as no art can reduce it to a 
uniform figure ; and the branches of it are fo hard and brittle, 
that numbers of them are broken every violent wind, from 
whence they have a ragged and difagreeable appearance : All the 
kinds of them, therefore, ought to be planted in the wildernefs, 
or under the protedion of fome other plantation, where, by 
growing in concert with other trees, they will efcape that mif- 
fortune, and where their negligent wildnefs of growth, and 
large bunches of fweet-fmelling aromatic flowers in fummer, 
have a pleafmg effed, and intitle them to a place in all orna- 
mental plantations. 

Tk£y delight mofl in a deep feeding moifl foil. 



M 2 



9:^ TREAT ISE 



Chapter XV. 

The wild CHERRY TREE-, 

In England, commonly called the Black Cherry- 
In Scotland, the G e e n Tree. 

27?^ Species arz i 

1. Tlie cDmmon Black Geen, 

2. The common Red Geen. 

3. The large Hungarian Geen. 

4. The Geen Tree, with very fmall flones, and large- 

black fruit, 

^ I '^HOUGH this plant is not nfually clalTed in catalogues of 
Foreft- trees, yet its flately fize, fine form, beautiful and 
fragrant bloffoms, the various ufes of the fruit, and value of the 
timber, certainly intitle it to our attention, and place it in no 
mean rank, either for ornamental or ufeful plantations. 

It is propagated from the flones of their fruit, which fhould 
not be gathered till perfectly ripe, and beginning to decay, 
when they muft be divefted of the fleihy part ; and in four or five 
days after, when the humidity is gone, mix them in fand, pro- 
tected from inoifture, till the kernels are firm and dry, which 
will be in about a month ; when, having prepared a fpot of 
frefli mellow light foil, fow them in beds of three and. a half 
feet broad, with alleys of eighteen inches between them. If the- 
following winter is fevere, and the frofb flrong and lafling, during 
that period throw fome Peafe-haulm, or other light covering over 
them, to be regularly taken off on the weather's becoming mild. 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 



In open winters no extraordinary protedion is neceffary j but after 
violent and long continued florins, I have ^ifcovered many of the 
ftones fplit afunder,andthe kernels thus deprived of their covering, 
generally decay, particularly if the frofls happen early in winter. 
About the beginning of April, the plants will begin to ap- 
pear above ground, when, in dry weather, frequently watering 
them in the evenings for about two months, will much increafb 
their growth. 

The following February, remove thefe plants from their feed- 
bed to the nurfery, in any tolerable foil not wet or flilf ; and 
having reduced the top-roots, plant them in lines, two feet 
diflant, and nine or ten inches afunder in the line ; give them 
two or three waterings in April and May, in dry weather ; dig 
the ground between the lines in autumn and fpring, and let 
them remain two feafons. 

From this remove them to another nurfery in Odlober, fcill 
reducing the top-roots, fmoothing the extremities of the fpread- 
ing ones, and cutting off fuch as crofs each other, with a few of 
the undermofl branches, or any others that are ill-placed ; plant 
them in Hnes, four feet diftant, and eighteen inches afunder in 
the line ; dig the ground as formerly, and let them ftand here 
only two years longer, if intended foon to bear fruit ; but, as fo- 
refl-trees, without that confideration, they may remain three years,. 

These trees will now be from eight to ten feet high, and of 
a proper fize for planting in woods and wildernefs work ; but for 
groves, avenues, or clumps in lawns or parks, for which pur- 
pofes few trees are more proper, they may again be removed, two 
or three repeated times, planting diem at greater diflanccs pre- 



94 T REATISE on 

portioned to their Hze as has been directed for the Elm, till they 
are above danger from cattle, without protection, this tree being 
very patient of tranfplantation when large; only they ought not 
to condnue above three years from each removal, for tliefe pur- 
pcfes. 

EuT Vv'ith refpect to thol; principally intended for bearing 
fruit, a little more trouble is necclTary ; for though, by fowing 
tlie largcfl, befc ripened, and fineft flavoured Cherries, fome 
of the trees, in a favoarable foil, vv^ill produce fruit as good 
as their original, yet this is by no means an invariable cafe ; for 
moft kinds of fruit-trees degenerate extremely raifed that way, 
and though this does fo in a lefs degree than many of the other 
forts, yet in fome degree it will : Therefore, the only way of 
certainly procuring, and even improving the beft kinds, is by 
grafting, or rather budding them, which is a preferable opera- 
tion for all ftone-fruit, on frefli healthful flocks raifed from the 
fineft fruits, of three or four years old, v^^hich, being eafily per- 
formed, ought not to be grudged, to have fo certain and valuable 
a return. 

A YEAR after budding, thefe trees may be removed to another 
3iurfery, to fland two ^^ears longer before planting cut for gocd, 
ftill abating the downright roots, but encouraging thofe thatfpread 
near the fiirface as much as pofTible ; and here all too luxuriant 
and fuperiiucus branches mxay be taken away, and the plant redu- 
ced to the form it ought no renr-ain in : From which practice, in 
tv>'o years mere, it will be covered with bloffoms, and loaded 
with fruit. But in this p^ace it will be neceffary to obferve, 
and caution againfc a general error committed in the m.anage- 
ment of tins and many other fruit-bearing trees, which is, 



^fOREST - TREES. 95 

pruning them to a confiderable height with naked bodies. This 
impairs the beauty of the plant, as well as the quanti ty and 
quality of the fruit, by exhaufting the fap that lliould feed it ; 
for the trunk will be foonefl and befl fed, and, therefore, tiic 
nearer the branches are to the ground, they will the fooner, and 
in greater abundance, receive their proper nourilhment. 

Though I have mentioned pruning this tree, yet I muft ad- 
vife it to be done as fparingly as poflible, and only while the 
branches are young and tender, as lopping the old wood com- 
monly occafions a gum and canker, that rfunts and at lafl de- 
flroys the whole plant : But a little care and attention from the 
beginning may eafily remedy this, by rubbing oft^ the young 
buds where improperly placed ; and this practice vdll longer 
preferve them in ftrength and vigour. 

The Black Cherry, for improving both the fize and flavour of 
its fruit, Ihould be planted in a frefli, mellow, dry fandy loam, 
for timber ; it will grow to a large fize in moft drv foils, tho' 
poor and thin; but in wet ground, or ftilTclay, it will not fuc- 
eeed to advantage. It is one of our hardieft trees, of quick 
growth, and, its many good qualities confidered, I have often been 
amazed that great numbers of them have not been planted uni- 
verfally in all extenfive deligns. 

The wood is hard, ponderous, and durable ; it pohilies very 
finooth, and is ufed by the joiner for cabinets, cliairs, and 
many ufeful purpofes. 



the Black Cherry, being of the. fame genus, I fliall add: 



96 TREATISE on 

The bird CHERRY, ia Scotland called the Hagberry. 

T H O', in catalogues, tliis is placed in the third or lowefl 
growing clafs of trees, that is, from fifteen to thirty feet high, 
yet I have feen it above forty, and have raifed many of them 
jnyfelf above thirty feet, at fixteen years old. It is a plant of 
.extraordinary beauty when in bloom, the blofToms being fo 
thick as to cover the leaves, when the whole tree is as white as 
fnow, and .has an admirable eiFedl amongft other flowering 
plants^ 

It grows freely from cuttings, which ought to be planted in 
Eebruary, in a lhady border, in drills cut down with the fpade, 
about eight inches deep, and two buds of the cutting left above 
ground ; let the lines be two feet diftant, and the plants nine or 
ten inches in the line ; where, keeping them clear of weeds, and 
digging the ground between them, they may continue two 
years. 

After that time, remove them to anotlier fpot, cutting away 
the faperfluous roots and branches, and plant them in lines, three 
and a half feet diflant, and eighteen inches afunder in the line j 
clean and dig the ground as before, and let them remain two or 
three years longer, when they will be of proper lize to plant 
where they are to remain. 

This plant is extremely hardy, and will grow in almoft any 
foil, but chiefly afiects a deep, moifl:, feeding mould, where it will 
make great advances fliddenly. The wood of it is ufeful tot 
many difierent purpofes in hufl:/andry. 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 



97 



C H A P T E R XVL 

The P O P L a p.. TREE. 

The Species are : 

1. The white Poplar. 

2. The black Poplar. 

3. The trembling Poplar, or Aspin. 

4. The Abel E. 

5. The white Poplar, with ftrip'd leaves. 

6. The Lombardy Poplar. 

7. The Carolina black Poplar. 

8. The Balfam Poplar from Canada. 

9. The berry-bearing Poplar from Canada. 

I SHALL begin with the four kinds of this tree firft mentioned, 
that have long been commonly known to us, and then pro- 
ceed to the others that have but lately been introduced to this 
coxmtry. 

The firft, fecond, and third forts, are w^ith the greateft eafe 
propagated by cuttings, planted in February or March ; and tho' 
the fourth will likewife grow in that way on moifl ground, yet 
it more readily fucceeds by fuckers taken from the roots of old 
trees, of which everyone produces great numbers. Thefe cut- 
tings or fuckers being planted in the nurfery, in lines, two and 

N 



T R E A S E o w 

; a half feet diftaiit, a foot in the line, and eight or ten inches 
'deep, will, in two years, be flrong plants, and fit to remove 
■where they are defigned to remain : But to be more expeditions, 
where iheker and fhade are immediately required, procure 
truncheonii or ftraight poles of them, eight or ten feet high ; 
■ make a hole with a hard fliarp ftake, from eighteen inches to 
two feet deep, as the pole is longer or fhorter ; and in this place it, 
filling the hole full of water, and prefling in fome fmall mould 
firmly about it, to keep the plant fteady. From this cheap and 
fimple practice thefe will grow freely, and in a few years be- 
come large trees ; and thus their culture being fo very eafy, it is 
imnecellary to fay more on it. 

Of all the trees our climate produces, I know none fo great 
and general advantages might be derived from, as planting Pop- 
lars in the cold, wet, and uncultivated places of the country ; 
they will grow luxuriantly in the pooreft wet bog-s, in the hun- 
griefl: devouring clays, in burning fand or gravel, as well as in 
the moft fteril barren mofs, and the guick advance they make in 
fuch fituations is a.mazing. 3 have meafured ihoots of the white 
Poplar eight feet long of one year's growth, and have often heard 
of much more ; but there is hardly any land fo wet and beg- 
;garly as not to produce them, three or four feet annually, for 
:many fucceflive years. 

The fhade of this tree is falubrious and friendly, both to ani- 
mals and vegetables, and their leaves, which are ample and 
4;hick, pregnant with rich fweet juices, fall in fuch abundance, as 
foon to create a foil that will produce good meadow, or pafture 
grafs, as the fituation is moift or dry. To effed this, I would 

J 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 99 

advife thefe trees to be planted on fucli otherways ufelefs 
land, in lines, ten feet diftant, and five aflmder in the lina. 
In five or fix years, take away every fecondtree, which will leave 
them at twenty feet by ten ; and in feven or eight years more-, 
repeat the fame, which will make them forty by twenty ; at this 
diflance they may remain till fit for the axe. 

Tk e Poplar naturally produces many branches from their 
trunks when young, which ought to be cut away clofe every 
third or fourth year, to the height of fourteen or fixteen feet, to 
admit a free circulation of air to the ground, as well as promote 
the growth of the tree ; and when the foil has thickened, which 
in a few years it will, fow on it fome white clover and natural 
grafs feeds, faved from an old upland pafcure. In doing this, the 
land is not to be plow'd, but tlie furface frequently loofened 
by a light harrow with fliort wooden teeth, till well pul v^erifed .; 
then cover the feeds, by drawing fome buihe& lightly over them^ 
and rolling the ground. This may be done any time from March 
till Auguft, as the fhade of the trees will prevent the feeds from 
perifliing by drought ; but the fooner after March the betr- 
ter, particularly where the land is very wet, as, by early fowing, 
tlie roots of the grafs will be better eftablilhed, and not fubje{^ 
to be fpew'd out in winter, which frequent light rollings early in 
autumn, when the weather is dry, will likeways much contribute 
to prevent. The fecond fpring after fawing, when the ground 
will be well covered with grafs, and fit either for pafture or 
mowing, the trees, may be difbranched to the height of twenty- 
four feet, when the prunings will be ufeful for fuel, dead fences, 
and many other purpofes in hufbandry. It is remarkable, and 
what I have often noticed, that, immediately under the fliade 
and droppings from this tree, the grafs is foonefi; eat by cattle;^ 



I CO 



TREATISE 



After thefe grounds have been paftured for eight or ten years,, 
fuch of them as are tolerably dry may be converted into corn- 
land, by taking away the line of trees at twenty feet afunder^, 
which will leave the plantation at eighty feet by forty, a diftance 
that will do little (if any) injury to whatever grows about it, but 
v.^hich, by alternately and judiciouily varying the crops, wilL 
improve both the corn and grafs for ever.. 

The leaves of no tree yet known has fo good an effe^l in' 
compoft foil as that of the Poplar, nor v/ill any fo foon thicken 
the earth on which they grow, to vvhich may be added that of 
its being a very handfome chearful plant.. 

Thus, at a very inconfiderable expence, large tracts of wafte 
land in thefe kingdoms, that now produce no ufeful thing,, 
might, in a few years, be rendered beautiful, warm and fruitful. . 
Should it not then be a reproach to the owners of thefe unculti- 
vated places, that an experiment fo eafy and cheap, as putting a 
parcel of cuttings in the ground in fuch a manner as here di-- 
reeled, is not tried ? the fuccefs of v/hich is certain, and which, 
if judicioufly pradlifed by a fev7, would as certainly be followed 
by numbers to a very great and general improvement., 

"Th e trembling Poplar does not grow to the m.agnitude of the 
other forts mentioned, and is therefore lefs proper than they for 
the purpofes defcribed, but is, amongft all the trees yet known, 
the fittefl for planting by the fides of rivers, to prevent their in- 
croachments. , 

The wood of all the Poplars is ufed for different purpofes, by 
the turner, the cart-wright, and cooper for hoops ; and that of 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. ror 



the Abele (which is the bed timber) is good both for ilooriiig 
and wainfcotting rooms, being exiremely white, and neither fub- 
je6l to fpht, fwell, or ilirink : But notwithflanding thefe good 
qualities, in grounds intended to produce good and clean grafs, 
I lliould rather advife the white and Lombardy Poplars, as not 
fubjecfl to produce fuckers, which the Abele does in fuch abun- 
dance as to deftroy the grafs, or other crops where the land is 
not annually cultivated : For thefe reafbns, this tree ought to be 
planted at fach diftances as to run quickly up for timber-trees, 
without other confiderations. 

The white Poplar with ftrip'd leaves, is increafed by bud- 
ding it on the common white Poplar ; but the variegation is 
faint, if not planted on a poor thin foiL 

Tk e Lombardy Poplar has been but lately introduced into Bri- 
tain ; it is a fine chearful pyramidal plant, grows yet fafler than 
the common kinds, and affords an admirable flicker to every 
thing it furrounds : It is propagated with equal eafe as the o- 
thers, by cuttings, and, fo far as I have been able to obferve, is as 
hardy, and will fucceed in all the fame kinds of land they do ; 
from whence, if generally cultivated, there appears every rea- 
fon to believe it v/iii foon turn out to a national beneht. 

The black Carolina Poplar is a very graceful plant, but is far 
from being fo hardy as any of the other kinds, great part of the 
former years fiioot being fubjed: to perifh in hard winters, or 
where they are much expofed ; and therefore they ought to be 
placed in a well protedled fituation, and in a good deep, feeding,, 
moift, but not wet foil: Fortho',,in their native climate, where 



Z 0-2 



TREATISE 



the winters are not fo long as ours, they are mofl commonly 
found in watery grounds, and by the fides of rivulets, yet, from 
many repeated trials I have made, I find they will not fucceed in 
fuch places here ; neither ought they to be planted in thin dry 
land, where frequent w^a-terings in fummer will be required to 
keep them barely alive. The young branches of this tree, which 
grow m an a ngular manner, are very fingular : Their leaves are . 
broader than any of the other forts mentioned ; and, from their 
buds in the fpring^ ilTues a very fweet balfam. . 

The Balfam Poplar was fent in cuttings from Canada to'; 
Scotland five or fix years ago, and being propagated with much 
eafe, are now in the hands of many. It is, of ail the fpecies, by 
far the moft beautiful and magnificent plant. The leaves are 
very large, of a light chearful green, and the bark of a fmooth 
fhining browni/h colour. I have feen it in various foils, both 
wet and dry, , of a middling good quality, in all which it much 
exceeds the other forts in luxuriance of growth. Whether it 
will advance with equal facility as the common kinds, in very 
poor and expofed fituations, I fhall not yet pretend to determine, 
as it has not been long enough amongft us to mak& fufiicient 
experiments ; but, from all the obfervations I have been able to 
make, it appears a hardy plant, from whence there is reafon to - 
hope it may; in which event, it will be an acquifition of the : 
higheft importance, both in point of ufe and beauty to our fo- 
refts ; and as, if I live, trials fhall immediately be made in the 
fulleft manner, this circumftance will foon be determined. 

The berry-bearing Poplar was introduced to us at the fame 
dme, and in the fame manner, as the balfam kind. It is. like* 



r O R E S T -TREES. 



' wife a plant of much elegance, not quite fo broad in the leaf as 
the other, but of a gay lighter green and whitifli bark, deeply 
furrowed. 

In the beginning of March, let the cuttings of thefe trees, a 
foot long, be planted, eight inches deep, in well-prepared foil, 
of a good quality, in lines, thr^e feet afunder, and the plants fix- 
teen or eighteen inches diflant in the line, when, after two 
years {landing, they may be removed to where they are defigned 
i^to remain. 

Though, as has been obferved, thefe plants appear, and I 
• believe are, or will become very hardy, yet I muft notice, that, 
having planted fome of their cuttings in rich, and others in poor 
and lefs cultivated ground, I have loft a confiderable number of 
thofe in the poor, while not one of a hundred has failed in the 
generous foil ; from whence I naturally conclude, that in 
making plantations of them in coarfe, barren, or cold fituations, 
the nurfed plants are much preferable to cuttings, though this is 
no argument againft their becoming very hardy when advanced 
in growth. But whatever their fuccefs maybe in forbidding foils 
and climates, we have, in the mean time, the ftrongeft motives 
to encourage them for ornamental plantations in thofe that are 
favourable. 



1 04 



T R E A T I S E 



O N 



€ H A P T E R XVII. 

The LOTE, or NETTLE TREE. 

jyje Species are : 

» 

1. The Nettle Tree, with black fruit, 

2. The Nettle Tree, with purple fruit. 

3. The Nettle Tkee, ^vith large yellow fruit. . 

4. The Ea^ftern Nettle Tree, with larger leaves and fruit. 

^J^"* H E fiiil of thefe trees is a native of Europe, the fecond 
and third of America, and the fourth was difcovered by 
the late Dr Tournefort in the Levant, who fent its fruit to the 
Royal Garden at Paris, v\rhere they were raifed, and from thence 
foon introduced to the Britifh gardens. They are all of them 
hardy enough to bear our feverefl winters, in ordinary lituations, 
after three or four years old, and, being a tree of admirable 
iliade, beaut)', and ufe, deferves to be generally cultivated. 

It may be raifed either from feeds, (which if you can procure, 
is the befc method), or by layers : If from feeds, fow them in 
the fpring foon after they are ripe, (which is commonly in Ja- 
nuary), in pots or boxes, about a foot deep, full of holes in the 
bottom, covered with oyfler-fhells or broken tyles, and three or 
four inches thick of rough ftoney gravel above them, to drain the 
moifture, and prevent the earth from becoming heavy and four : 



1 



FOREST-TREES. 105 

Then fill the pots or boxes, withhi an inch of the top, with ricli 
loofe compoft mould ; fow the feeds, and fift over them half an, 
inch more of the fame quality of earth. Few of thefe feeds will 
appear till the following fpring ; but the pots or boxes ought not to 
be funk in the ground, as is too commonly pra<5lifed by ignorant- 
gardeners, in order, as they fay, to keep them moift ; and, in fa(5l,by 
lazy ones, to prevent the trouble of watering them, but which, by 
detaining the water, rots more feeds and plants than any other 
circumftance ox ill management I know; befides, thofe thatefcape 
are poor, Itarved, and ftunted ilufF: Therefore let them be raifed 
or eight inches above tlie lurlace of the ground, fupported by 
flones or logs of wood, and placed where they may receive the 
morning fun only, till autuinn, when they fiiould be removed 
under a fouth wall, and condnue there till the weather turn fe- 
vere, during wlilch time they ought to be put under a covered 
frame, but tiie glalies or other covering taken conftantly off in 
mild weather. About the beginning of April after, remove the 
boxes to their firft fituation ; ioofen the furface gently with your 
fingers, picking avv'ay the foggy or mouldy parts, and fift on a 
little freih earth in proportion. About the end of April, the bulk 
of the plants will appear above ground, when they muft be fre- 
quently but moderately watered i.i the evenings when mild, 
but in the mornings, when inclined to frofl, kept perfeflly clean 
during the fummer months, and protected as in the preceding 
winter in fevere weather. 

Thf. plants being a year old, raife them carefully out of the 
boxes, Hiorten the downright roots, and manage them as direcft- 
ed for the Tulip-tree during their abode in the nurf.'ry j with 

O 



io6 TREATISE on 



which culture they will very well agree, till planted where they 
are to remain for good^ 

If you intend to propagate them by layers, let this be per- 
formed as foon as the leaves begin to tarni£h, about the end of 
September, or early in Odtober. The wood of this tree being 
extremely hard, will not root fufficiently till the fecond year, 
vmlefs the fummer is uncommonly wet, or you affifh them with 
regular and plentiful waterings ; therefore, if you mean to fave 
a feafon, let this be particularly attended to^ 

"When you find they have rooted abundantly, in the end of 
March, or beginning of April, take away the earth from about 
the layer, of which be very tender, and with a fharp knife cut 
it off beyond the joint, where, if properly laid, the roots will 
principally be ; prune away all but the ftrongeft and ftraighteft 
flioot, and plant them in a nurfery of good frefh foil, in rows., 
at two and a half feet diftance, and a foot afunder in the row j 
give them frequent waterings till the roots are well eftablifhed j 
keep the ground clean, digging it between the rows in autumn 
and fpring, and let them remain here two years ^ 

These trees may now be either planted out for good, or re- 
moved to another nurfery, cutting off the extremities of their 
roots and all ill-placed branches, and placed in rows three and a 
half feet diftant and eighteen inches in the row, treating them 
as formerly, and letting them remain for three years. 

The Nettle Tree will fucceed in any ordinary land, but mofl 
delights in a deep moift foil, where they will foon become ftate- 



.1 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 107 

I J trees ; and their fine regular fpreading heads, of chearful 
green, renders them extremely proper, either for clumps in parks, 
groves, fingle trees, or avenues. 

Next to the Platanus this plant was moft efteemed by the an- 
tient Romans, both for its grateful fliade, and timber immortal, 
as they ftiled it. Of this the vaft fum offered by CrafTus to Do- 
mitius for half a dozen of them, growing about his houfe in 
Rome, is an inconteftible proof. It is doubtlefs amongfl the 
hardefl wood of any we know : It was formerly ufed for pipes, 
and all kinds of wind-inftruments ; and the roots mak^ excellent 
handles for knives, with many different kinds of tools that re- 
quire flrength and folidity. 



O 2 



loS TREATISE o n ^ 

Chapter XVIII. 
The laburnum, or BEAN-TREFOIL 

The Species are : 
I. The broad-Icav'd Laburnum. 

1. The narrow-leav'd Laburnum, with long pendulous 
flowers. 

3. The broad-leav'd Laburnum, with very ftiort pendu- 
I0.US flowers. 

I H E S E trees are propagated by fowing their feeds (which 
they annually produce in plenty) in March, on a bed of 
frelli earth, covering them about half an inch thick ; and, in four 
or Ave weeks, the plants will appear above ground, when fome 
gentle waterings in dry weather will much promote their 
growth. 

The following February or March, remove them from the 
feed-bed to the nurfery ; fliorten their roots, which are naturally 
carroty, but which are not injured by cutting them freely when 
young i plant them in lines, two and a half feet diftant, and a 
foot afunder in the line ; keep them clean ; dig the ground be- 
tween the lines in autumn and fpring, and let them remain two 
feafons. 

From hence remove them, in Ocflober or February, to another 
quarter ; flill continue to reduce the roots that incline down- 



F O R E S T - T R E E S.- 109 

wards, and fmooth the extremities of the fprcading ones ; prune 
ofF all ill-placed lateral branches, but leave fome of the fmallelt 
at proper diftances ; for this tree, making prodigious Ihoots when 
the fide-boughs are all cut off, bends with its own weight, and 
is afterwards with difficulty redrefft'd. This being properly per- 
formed, plant them in lines, five feet dillant, and two feet afan- 
der in the line ; manage them as formerly diredled, and prune 
them annually to their proper form ; in which fituation they 
may remain three or four years, as your occafions require, by 
which time they will produce their flowers, and make an agree- 
able appearance in whatever plantation you place them. 

It feems to me fomewhat ftrange, that the Laburnum has not 
been univerfally cultivated in large quantities, it being a plant of 
admirable beauty in May when in bloom, and propagated with 
the greateft eafe, and fmallefl: expence, of moft trees. It will fuc- 
ceed in various foils, and even in that which is very poor and 
hungry; but where there is any confidcrable depth of tolerable 
mould, the progrefs it makes is amazing. Though I do not re- 
member to have heard the quality of the wood recommended 
by any author, yet I am well afllired it is very valuable for fun- 
dry purpofes, and by fome preferred even to mahogany for its 
folidity and beautiful colour, which is bright yellovv^, veined with 
dark purple j and I myfelf have feen a large table and a dozen 
chairs ot it, in the pofTeffion of a noble Lord, which good jud- 
ges of elegant furniture thought the fineft of thofe kinds they 
had ever feen. 

I HAVE one further hint to give in favour of this plant, 
which alone makes it claim much attention, and that is, mix- 



I 10 



T II E A I' 1 S E 



iiig them in all plantations infefled with hares, who are fo fond 
of them, that while a twig remains, no other plant will be 
touched, and though eat to the ground every winter, they will 
fpring with additional vigour the fucceeding fummer, and con- 
ftantly fupply thefe animals in luxury. This, to my certain 
experience, may be depended on ; and the produce of five {hil- 
lings worth of feed, properly raifed and diftributed, will furnifli 
plants enough to prote6l 500,000 other trees. Many expen- 
iive and laborious experiments have been ineffe^lually tried to 
prote6l young plantations from thefe rapacious enemies : Here is 
a cheap and no lefs certain remedy; and, however fimple the dif- 
covery may appear, the effedls of it will be of the higheft c onfi- 
deration to every planter who puts it in pradice. 



fOREST-TREES. iii 



Chapter XIX. 
The alder TREE. 

I'^HIS tree delights in wet boggy land, and will even grow 
where water ftands conftantly, but, if planted in dry 
ground, is moft pernicious and devouring, as, by attracting all 
the moifture and generous juices from the earth, it will foon 
render it totally barren. From fifty to twenty years ago, vaft 
quantities of thefe plants were brought from Holland to this 
country, at a confiderable price, and, unhappily for the owners, 
planted in large tra6ls of moifl land, from whence no returns 
fuitable to the labour and expence have been received. Had 
the fame money been beflowed on planting Poplars and A- 
beles, they would by this time have highly increafed the value 
of fuch eftates, and become a general improvement ; whereas 
the injudicious choice of Alders has proved a bad example to 
young planters, and probably deterred many from planting at all, 
who otherways might have chofen handfomer and more pro- 
fitable trees. 

They are eafily propagated by layers, or by cuttings of three, 
four, or five years growth, planted in February or March ; but 
being an ugly melancholy tree, I chufe to fay no more of it, as 
fundry aquatics, of greater beauty and value, will grow abun- 
dantly fafler in the fame fituations they afieCl ; and it is only 
to warn the unexperienced planter againft the frequent wfe of 
them, that I have mentioned a tree I fo much dillike. 



2 TREATISE ON 

Chapter XX. 
The B I Pv C H TREE. 

The Species a?'e : 

1. The common Birch Tree. 

2. The Poplar-leav'd Birch Tree, 

3. The Canada Birch Tree. 



I H E common Birch may be propagated either from feeds or 
-1 fuckers taken from the roots of old trees, but the feedhngs 
make the handfomeft and beft-rooted plants. I fliall therefore 
iirft diredl their culture in that way, which, though one of the 
hardieft and mofc common trees our climate produces, (of which 
it is a native) yet is it feldom fuccefsfully raifed from feeds, 
which is generally owing to too much covering, and which it 
v/ill by no means bear, as the plants, when they firft vegetate, 
are very delicate, and unable to force their way through any 
conliderable depth of foil ; but by obferving the following fimple 
pradlice, you will procure them in abundance : 

Th e feeds of the Birch are ripe about the end of September 
or beginning of October, when, having gathered them in a fair 
clear day, fpread them thin on a loft floor till dry ; after which, 
mix them with loofe fand, and keep them in an airy place till the 
beginning of the following March. The ground for fawhig them, 
which ought to be frefli and light, having been trenched or dug 
the preceding autumn, point it over again, making it as ioofe 
as pofTible, and raking it very fine ; divide it in beds, three and 
a half feet wide ; fow the feeds, and clap them into the ground 
with the back of a fpade, without any earth thrown over them. 1 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 113 



If the weather is inciiil and mild, no fartlier care is nccciTary ; 
but if dry and frofty, which is often the cafe at this feafon, 
throw a little peafe-hanlm over the beds, for three or four weeks, 
till the feeds begin to vegetate, which will keep the ground mo- 
derately moift, and defend them from being injured by froft, or 
deflroyed by birds, who are very fond of them. About this 
time uncover the beds, keep the ground quite clean, and give 
them three or four gentle waterings about noon, from the mid- 
dle to the end of April, the weather being mild and dry ; 
which repeat more plentifully and frequently from thence till 
the middle of June, in mild evenings, when they will i-equire no 
further attention. 

The following March, remove thefe plants from the feminary 
to the nurfery, fliortening their top-roots, and plant them in 
lines, two and a half feet diftant, and about ten or twelve inches 
afunder in the lines ; to ftand two years, if the land is good, 
and the plants have grown freely ; but in poor thin foil, Vvdiere 
their progrefs has been fm.all, they may continue three years ; 
in which cafe, after the fecond year's growth, cut over fuch of 
them as are leaf!: thriving or crooked, clofe by the ground, in 
March, which will give them flraighter and more vigorous 
flioots. 

'Those taken from the roots of old trees, or feedlings grub- 
bed up from the woods, cannot have fo good roots or free fhoots 
as plants raifed in a clean well cultivated nurfery-bed, and there- 
fore will of courfe require more time and attention to make 
them equally good trees : For this purpofe, having procured the 
plants with all the roots poiTible, fliorten fuch of them as incline 
to run downward ; cut away fuch as are broken or brui fed, 

P 



114 TREATISE on 

with all the imifty parts naturally contradled in the v/oods for 
want of air ; reduce likewife the tops of fuch as are too tall or 
heavy-headed, and lay them in drills cut down with the fpade, 
at the farne diftances diredled for the feed lings, in depth propor- 
tioned to the fize of the plants, the moft certain rule for which, 
in this and all other trees, is placing them as deep only as they 
have naturally flood before ; water them at planting, keep the 
ground clean, and dig between the lines in the fpring. Having 
flood here two years, cut them all over by the ground, and let 
them remain two years longer, when they may be removed for 
good. 

The fecond and third forts will bear our winters well enough, 
when mixt with and flickered by other plants : They may be 
propagated either by layers or budding them on the common 
kind ; but it is uncertain raifmg them by feeds from America, 
which do not vegetate, if kept long out of the ground. 

Th e Birch is a handfome plant ; and though the wood is not 
amongft the moft valuable, yet it is ufeful for various purpofesj 
and no tree is more required by the country people, for their 
houfcs, or for ploughs, and other inflruments of hufbandry. 

The late Earl of Hadinton, the greatefl, mofl judicious 
and fuccefsful planter of his time in this country, juflly calls the 
Birch an amphibious plant, as it grows on rich and poor, wet 
and dry, fandy or rocky fituations, nor refufes any foil or cli- 
mate, and its fragrant fmell after rains juftly intitles it to a place 
in the wildernefs ; to which I fhall only add, that by woimding 
the tree in the fpring, is extra(5led a large quantity of juice, 
that, fermented, becomes a fpirituous, delicious, wholefbme liquor. 



FOR EST-TREES. 115 

Chapter XXI. 
The service TREE. 

The Species are : 

1. The tnie Service Tree. 

2. The manured Service Tree. 

3. The Maple-leav'd Service Tree. 

4. The Virginian wild Service, with leaves like the Straw- 

berry tree. 

5. The common wild Service Tree. 

6. The White Beam, or Area Theophrasti. 

7. The Quick Beam, in England commonly called the 

Mountain Ash, in Scotland the Rowan Tree. 

8. The Quick Beam, with ftrip'd leaves. 

'T^HESE plants, though not ufually propagated for common 
Foreft-trees, are yet well worth our attention in all collec- 
tions for ornament ; and both their fweet fmelling bloflbms ear- 
ly in fummer, and large bunches of bright red fruit in autumn, 
have a very pleafing effec^l in the wildernefs, or in clumps in 
parks, lawns, (^-c, 

Th ey are all to be propagated by the fowing their feeds ; but 
the four forts firft mentioned, like many other fruits, feldom 

P 2 



ii6 TREATISE on 

produce the fame kind of plants from whence the feeds were 
taken; and therefore, to preferve the diiTcrent fpecies, theymufc 
be increafed by layers, or hj budding and grafting them on the 
common forts, or Pear-flocks. Thefe budded or grafted will ' 
make better plants than the layers, and on the Pear-ftocks they 
will fooner become fruitful, and bear fairer fruit than on flocks 
of their own fpecies. I fliall therefore proceed to the other kinds, 
of which I have raifed great quantities from feed, without any 
variation from the parent tree„ 

Having provided the berries in Otlober, diveft them of the 
pulp, by rubbing them between your hands in water, and after 
that with, fand, in vsrhich. preferve them till the firfi; dry 
weather in fpring, and fow them on beds of rich well-pre- 
pared loofe earth, three and a half feet broad, covering them. 
one inch thick. Few of thefe feeds will appear above ground till 
the following fpring, but the beds mull notwithllandipg be kept 
perfecflly clean during the fummer months ; and as foon in Fe- 
bruary as the weather will admdt, v/ith a fhort-teeth'd rake, drefs 
and loofen the beds, throwing on fome frelh foil in proportion 
to the hard and foggy parts you have taken off ; and by the 
beginning of April, the weather being dry and not frofty, wa- 
ter them gently in the mornings once a week till July, which 
will much encourage their growth. 

From the feed-bed remove them the following fpring, Ihor- 
ten their top-roots, and plant them in well-prepared rich foil, 
In rows two feet diftant and a foot afunder in the row, where 
they ought to remain two years, keeping the ground clean ni 
fummer, and digging between the lines in fpring and autumUo 



F O R E S T - T R E E S riy 

Having flood here two feafons, remove them to cinotlier nur- 
fery, cutting away all crofs downright or fuperfluous roots ; but 
be fparing of the other fpreading ones, and only imooth them 
at the extremities : Plant them at three and a half feet by eigh- 
teen inches afander, treating them as formerly, to remain three 
years, when they will be of a proper fizc to remove where they 
are intended to continue for good. 

Though the fifth, lixth, and feventh forts, v/ill, any of them^ 
anfwer for ftocks to bud the other kinds on, yet of thefe the 
White Beam will make the beft plant, tho', as has been fiiid, 
the Pear-ftock is better ftill ; therefore, fuch of thefe as are in- 
ten\:led to be budded, fhould be pick'd out, the mofl vigorous 
plants of a year's growth, and planted on generous Ibil, at the 
diitance of three feet by fourteen or fixteen inches, budded the 
fecond fummer after removal, and Hand two years longer after 
budding, when they may be removed for good. 

The Quick Beam with (Irip'd leaver, mull likewife be increa- 
fed by budding, and fucceeds beil on flocks of its own kind. 

These trees in general af5e6l a ftrong moift foil, though the 
iinefl plants of the Quick Bea^m I have ever feen, vktc on dry 
elevated ground : Their wood is much ufed by the wheel-wright, 
as well as for many purpofes of hufbandry, and is excellent fuel : 
Their berries are the moil tempting bait of any fruit for the 
black birds and thrulhes, who will never fdW of giving theix 
company lb long as they lafl. 



iiS TREATISE 



Chapter XXII. 
The JUDAS TREE. 

The Species are: 

1. The common Judas Tree. 

2. The Canada Judas Tree. 

3. The Carolina Judas Tree, with pointed leaves, 

TH E firft of thefe is a native of the warmer parts of Europe, 
and abounds in Italy, Spain, and the fouthern parts of 
France. 

The fecond fort is common in Virginia, New-England, Ca- 
nada, and moft of the northern countries of America, where it is 
called Red Bud, from the beautiful colour of its flower-buds. 

The third fort is a common plant in the woods of Carolina, 
but differs from the other two in the form of its leaves, which 
are pointed, the former being nearly round ; the flowers of this 
too are fmaller, and the plants, for three or four years, require a 
little more flicker in cafe of hard winters, after which they will 
bear our climate perfe6lly well in an ordinary fltuation. 

These trees may be propagated by layers, which will make 
handfome enough plants if properly trained j but the feedlings 



FOREST-TREES. 119 



are ftill better, and feeds from the places of their native growth 
are preferable to thofe faved in Britain, being larger and better 
ripened. 

As foon as thofe feeds are either received from abroad, or ga- 
thered at home, after having been made quite dry, let them be 
mixed with loofe fand, and preferved from froft and wet till the 
middle or latter end of March, as the weather is more or lefs fa- 
vourable. About this time fow them on a bed of rich mellow dry 
foil, and cover them half an inch deep. In four or five weeks, 
the plants will begin to appear, when the bed ought to be hoop- 
ed over, and, when necelTary, covered with mats, firft to prote6l 
them from the cold frofty winds frequent at that feafon, and 
excellive rains which fometimes buril them, and afterwards to 
fcreen them from the fcorching heat of the fun, which will 
much accelerate their growth. From their appearance above 
ground, they mufl be gently tho' frequently watered in the 
mornings while the weather continues cold, but afterwards in 
the evenings when mild. In this fituation they will require no 
more trouble, than, in cafe of a fevere winter, throwing the mats 
over them in Itorms, and removing them regularly as the air 
becomes temperate. 

The fucceeding fpring, as foon as the buds begin to fwell, re- 
move the plants from the feminary to a nurfery of the fame kind 
of well-prepared loofe foil ; fhorten tiie top-roots, and plant 
them in rows two feet and a half diftant, and about a foot a- 
funder in the row ; give them a gentle watering, which ought 
to be frequently repeated in the evenings of dry weather during 
the fummer months, and keep the foil about them clean and 



I 20 



TREATISE 



mellovv. Thefc trees naturally grow in a wild irregular man- 
ner, and, v.dicn left to unafllftcd nature, are rather of the bufliy 
Shrub kind. To correct this defect, place a ilake firm by the lide 
of each plant ; and as it advances in height, tie the leading flioot 
to it with a piece of foft bafs, which diredion it will afterwards 
retain, and the plants will grow ftraight and regular. In cafe 
the following wdnter fhould prove fevere, it may be neceflary to 
throvv'^ fome peafe-fbraw over the ground, to keep the frofts from 
injuring the roots, and, the fucceeding fpring, let it be dug into 
the ground between the rows. At this time let all the low- 
growing branches of the former year be cut clofe away, that 
they may not impede the vigorous growth of the leading fhoot, 
w^hich muft be confhantly tied to the ftake as it advances in 
height ; but tho' the loweft, all the fmall branches are not to be 
taken away, that the main one may not be drawn too tall and 
{lender, but advance with bulk proportioned to its height. If 
thefe circumftances are attended to, the plants will only require 
the additional trouble of keeping them clean during their abode 
here.. 

The Judas tree iliouid not remain longer than two years in 
the fame nurfery from the feed-bed, and therefore, the fucceed- 
ing fpring, may either be planted out where they are to remain, 
or (which I would rather advife) be committed to another nur- 
fery, a.nd planted at greater intervals, for two years longer, 
vv^here they may be treated in the fame manner as has been 
chrefted ; by which time, they Avill be large, handfome, hardy 
plants. 

Tho' the above method of culture is the cheapeft and eafieft 
for- raifing great quantities of thefe trees, yet to fuch as are 



FOREST-TREES. 121 



above the regard of common expence, and want to promote their 
growth as faft as poffible, a readier practice may be followed, 
and which, for three or four years, will make the plants double 
the iize of thofe raifed in the natural way. 

. For this purpofe, the beginning of March, fow the feeds thin 
in penny-pots, and plunge them to the rim in a moderate hot- 
bed of tanners bark, rather than horfe-dung ; the heat of the 
bark being more equal, lading, and lefs fteam arifing from it, 
than that of the dung. When the feeds have been a week fown, 
they muft be very gently watered every third or fourth day j 
after the plants come above ground, every fecond day, and the 
quantity of water increafed as they advance in growth. When 
the plants are about five or fix inches high, which may be about 
the beginning of May, draw out the ftrongeft of them, leaving 
the fmal'ler in the fituation they were in ; plant each of thofe in 
a leparate penny-pot, and plunge them again into another mo- 
derate hot-bed, watering them frequently and plentifully, co- 
vering the glalfes with mats when the fun fliines in the heat of 
the day, to prevent their being fcorched, and admitting a 
proper quantity of air to them, that they be not over-drawn. In 
this condition they may remain till about the firft of Auguft, 
■when the bark will have loft moft of its heat, and when the pots 
may be taken out of it, but ftill kept in the frame, though more 
and more expofed to the open air daily, till the glafTes are taken 
away wholly during the mild weather of the autimm months. 
On the approach of winter, the glafTes muft again be replaced on 
their frames, to prote6l the plants in fevere ftorms only ; but 
they ought to be fully expofed to the open air, when the feafoji 
is temperate. 



122 TREATISE ON 

Tk e following fpring, let the fmall plants that remained in 
the pots where fown, be carefully flmken out of them, and divi- 
ded fo as not to injure their tender roots and fibres ; cut away 
with a fliarp knife the extremities of their downrij^ht and ftra - 
gling roots, and put them in feparate pots of the fame fize ; 
plunge tliem again with the others that were unpotted the pre- 
ceding fummer, in a frelh tan-bed, till the month of July, by 
which time they will have made vigorous flioots, and the pots be 
full of roots ; harden them by degrees, aiid treat them as in the 
former year ; only, as. the plants will be much ftronger, and of 
courfe more hardy, they may be more fuddenly expofed to the 
open air, and need not fo much protection tlie following winters^ 
even in hard weatliex. 

When the fap begins to rife, the fucceeding fpring, carry 
thefe pots to the quarter of the nurfery where you intend to plant 
them,, which fhould be as nearly as you can fuch a foil as de- 
fcribed for the feedlings, and flieltered a little by trees or hedges; 
make pits with a fpade,, at three feet diftance by two, as deep 
and fomething wider than the pots, from which fliake them 
carefully out with their whole bulk of earth, which may eafily 
be done without injuring their fmallefi: root ; place them up- 
right, and no deeper than they have flood before ; give them a 
plentiful watering ; prune away the under branches, and any 
others that are ill-placed, and fix a ftrong flake by each of them 
that inclines to be crooked, to which tye the leading flioot ; and 
in this fituation let them remain two years, digging the ground 
about them in antumn and fpring, and continuing to prune a- 
way all fuperfluous ill-placed branches, when you may tranfplaiit 
them to the places where they are meant to remain for goodu. 



FOREST-TREES. 123 



By attending to what has been faid on the propagation of 
thofe plants, they can be raifed with fuch abundance of roots, 
as not to be retarded in their growth, or feel the fmallcfl check 
on their removal. 

If I have been tedious in dire(5ling the management of the Ju- 
das Tree, it is becaufe I think it a plant of fmgular elegance and 
beauty, when affifted by proper culture, which is far from be- 
ing the common cafe^ and I cannot help thinking, it is from 
not attending to that, we fee it fo very little propagated, even by 
men of knowledge and obfervation in gardening. In its natural 
ftate, indeed, it grows in an irregular ftraggling manner ; but 
by leading the principal fhoot, as here diretfted, it may eafily be 
elevated to the height of twenty -five feet or upwards. The flow- 
ers are of a beautiful red colour, tinged with crimfon and pur- 
ple ; the leaves, a fine deep green, large, and nearly round. The 
flowers appear before the leaves are expanded, and, in well- 
grown trees, are fo numerous as almoft to cover the branches, 
which altogether renders it one of the greateft beauties of the 
fpring. 



0^2 



.124 



TREATISE ON 



Chapter XXIII, 
The elder TREE, 

HIS tree is little planted but for the fake of its berries, of 
which they make wine, and likewife ufe them for fundry 
other purpofes ; but it has other good qualities than thefe to re- 
commend it, and in bad climates, and cold barren foils, it may- 
become a valuable plant. 

It will grow in wet and dry, cold and hot, and indeed in all 
kinds of foil, amazingly fall ; and in the moft forbidding litua- 
tions, where thorns and the better kinds of hedge plants will not 
fucceed, by putting in flakes of the Elder, of four, five, or fix 
years growth, about three feet high, planted a foot deep, and 
about a foot afunder, you may in three years have hedges that 
will refift the wildefh cattle, and by their warmth much improve 
the ground. Thefe hedges being cut clofe to the body of the 
plants every third or fourth year, will branch out again more 
numeroufly than ever, and afford a conftant fupply of fuel, 
which, in many fituations, might prove a bleffing to the poor 
inhabitants. It might alfo be ufed to much advantage in bet- 
ter fituations intended for plantations of the moft valuable Fo- 
reft-trees, by planting them thick in lines acrofs the mofl expo- 
fed places of the field, where, by their quick growth, and the 
excellent protedlion they afford againfl tempefluous and frofty 
winds, they will highly contribute to the fpeedy advance of fuch 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 



125 



plantations ; and the Elders may be cut down by degrees, as 
the other trees advance. 

However much this plant is generally difregarded, it is not- 
withftanding a handfome chearful tree, and, when covered with 
its numerous clufters of white flowers in fpring, and purple 
berries in autumn, has a very agreeable efFedl in lawns, clumps, 
^c. But I would by no means advife its being planted in the 
wildernefs or foreft promifcuoufly with other trees, as their 
creeping roots, that extend a great way, would rob the other 
plants near them of their proper nourifhment ; neither fliould 
they be placed in any quantity near habitations, where the 
ilrong fcent emitted from their flowers will occafion pains in the 
head ; but, for the firfl-mentioned purpofes of nurflng other 
plants, difpofed at proper diftances from them, they deferve at- 
tenuon. 



126 



TREATISE ON 



Chapter XXIV. 
The TACAMAHACA TREE. 

' I " HIS tree grows fpontaneoufly on the continent of America, 
where the inhabitants wound the bodies of them in the 
fpring, from whence flows a balfam much efteemed by the phy* 
ficians in thofe countries ; and it is hardy enough to bear our 
fevereft winters. 

It is eafily propagated by cuttings planted about the middle 
of , February, in rich mellow earth, fhaded from the mid-day 
fun, and watered in dry weather, where, in one year, if the 
cuttings were ftrong, they will grow upwards of three feet 
high. 

The fucceeding February, remove the cuttings to a nurfery 
of any good middling deep foil ; fmooth the extremities of their 
roots ; cut off the ftrong fide branches, and plant them in rows 
three feet diftant and eighteen inches afunder in the row ; give 
them a plentiful watering ; keep the ground clean ; dig between 
the rows in autumn ; and let them continue in this nurfery two 
or three years, when they may be tranfplanted to the places in 
which they are intended to remain. 

This is a quick-growing graceful plant, and juftly claims a 
place in the wildernefs, or other ornamental plantations. The 



I 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 127 

leaves are long, thick, of a bright fhining green, with their un- 
der fides of a lively filver hue, which, when waving with the 
wind, makes an agreeable diverfity. The buds are covered with 
a dark glutinous balfam, which fmells very ftrong, and adheres 
to the fingers on touching them ; and they warn us, with the 
earlieft plants, of the approach of fpring. They will grow in 
any ordinary foil, but moft affedl that which is mellow and 
' deep. Where there are void fpaces in the wildernefs, occafloned 
by the death of other trees, this planted, and let grow in its 
natural manner, which is thick and bulhy, will fooner fupply 
thefe defeds hauvlfomely than moft other plants. 



»2a TREATISE ON 



EVERGREENS. 

Chapter XXV, 
The pine TREE, 

The Species are : 

1. The Scots Pine, commonly called the Scots Fir Tree, 

2. The manured Pine Tree. 

3. The Pinaster, or wild Pine Tree, 

4. The large Stone Pine Tref. 

5. The fmaller Stone Pine Tree, 

6. The Chifler Pine Tree. 

7. The Eaftern Pine Tree. 

8. The Swamp Pi N E Tree, with long narrow leaves, 

9. The JerfeyPiNE Tree. 

10. The Virginian Pi N E Tree, with long narrow leaves, and 

a rough cone. 

1 1. The Virginian Pine, commonly called the Frankincence 

Tree. 

12. The New England Pine Tree, 

'j^^HERF are many other forts of Pines mentioned by different 
authors on Gardening and Botany ; but thefe, from expe- 
rience, and what obfervations I have been capable of making, 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 129 

are moft worthy of general culture in the climate of Great- 
Britain, 

I SHALL begin with defcribing the common method in Scot- 
land of cultivating the Scots Pine or Fir, from which practice, 
many millions are annually raifed and planted out amongft us ; 
and then, as ihortly as I can, hint what circumilances I have long 
found an improvement on that pradlice. 

The ufual way is, to gather their cones in winter, and fow 
the feeds about the end of April or beginning of May ; but as 
before that feafon of the year, the fun has feldom power enough 
to open the cones, they have recourfe to laying them before a hot 
fire, or upon a kiln, which, if not done with great caution, and 
the heat made very temperate, totally deftroys a great part of 
the feeds, or in all events, though done with difcretion, it 
weakens the whole. Little obfervation, and Icfs philoibphy, will 
fliow this practice oppofite to nature^ 

These feeds however, the befh they can ger, are fown at the 
feafon before-mentioned on beds of well-prepared earth, ex- 
tremely thick, and covered about a quarter of an inch deep, 
where they remain two years. 

From the feed-bed, fuch as are not demanded, the gardeners 
remove to the nurfery, where they are (till planted out very thick, 
and from thence fold the following or fecond year after, as the 
demand happens to be more or lefs. 



Much the greatefl quantity of Scots Firs are planted out in 
Scotland from the feed-bed, and fuch are generally (tho' furely 

R 



TREATISE on 

very injiidicioufly) cliofen for the moft hungry barren foils, and 
moft bleak expofed fituations, where, from the natural hardinels 
of the plant, in kindly moift fcafons, they frequently grow; but 
where, if the following May is accompanied with cold wither- 
ing frofty winds, and June with drought, (a circumftance, from 
fatal experience, we too often find the cafe in this climate), they 
generally perifli. 

This, however, though a too frequent, is not an univerfal 
practice, as feveral gentlemen, of knowledge and experience in 
gardening, plant large quantities of them from the nurfery at 
three and four years old, when, if they have been tolerably well 
cultivated, it mufl be a very bad foil and feafon indeed if they 
do not fucceed. 

Such is the common method of propagating this plant: It 
remains I Ihould dire6l its culture in. the way I have fucceeded 
better than ufual. 

I HAVE obferved, that the feeds of this tree are rarely, if ever, 
got amongft us in full perfe(5lion, and given my reafons for it. 
To gather the cones therefore fully ripe, and make them emit 
their feeds, without committing violence on them, obferve the 
following rules : 

These cones, as thofe of the Larch, increafe in maturity du- 
ring the whole winter, and, like them, fiiould not be gathered 
till fpring, thoiigh their management afterwards is much more 
fimple, being with more eafe divefted of their covering. 



F O R E S T - T R E E .S. 131 

Let tliem therefore be gathered from the faireft and moft llou- 
rifliing trees of the red kind (or if fallen from them, thcj are fo 
much the better) in March or April, and kept in a dry place till 
June, July, or Auguft, as the weather fooner or later becomes hot : 
^ At the moft favourable of thefe feafuns, fpread them on a mat 
or canvafs expofed to the fun during the heat of the day, taking 
them under cover in the evenings, and keeping them conftantly 
from the rains and dews. In a few days the cones will expand, 
and the feeds will rattle within them : When this comes to be the 
cafe, put them in a wire-heve, and lliake them above a cloth, 
on which you will find many of the feeds come out ; repeat the 
fpreading of the cones in the warmeft expofures to the mid- 
day fun for feveral days, (as the feeds will not all be difcharged 
perhaps for fbme weeks, and with fundry fhakings), till having 
bruifed fome of the cones, you find they contain no feeds that 
are plump and frelh. Having thus procuj-ed them, let them 
be kept in boxes or bags, placed in a dry room, till the fealon 
of fowing. 

By colledling your feeds in this manner, (and the expence or 
trouble is not great), you will have them unhurt, ripe and ge- 
nerous, a pound of which will raife more plants than fix of that 
ufually bought from the feed-gatherers : Nor is even this the 
greaceft advantage; for every gardener knows, (or at leaft ought 
to know) that on the good quality of the feed depends the fu- 
ture luxuriant growth of the plant, as a difeafed or weak parent 
is not likely to produce a healthy and vigorous offspring. It is 
much to be vvifhed this circumftance were more attended to than 
it ufually is, both in the. animal and vegetable creation, 

R 2 



132 TREATISE on 

I TROCRFD to die management of the feeds, from the pra(!^icc 
of which I have found uncommon fuccefs in the culture of this 
ufefal plant ; and the public may be affured, I fnali not give a 
hint on the fubjecfl:, the benefit of v^diich I have not been fully 
fenfible of from long and frequent experience. 

From fowing the Fir feeds fo late in the feafon as they com- 
monly are, tliey do not appear above ground till the weather is 
warm, and the greateft drought ufually begins in this country. 
Thus they mufl either be regularly watered, (which in large 
quantities is very expenfive), or whole quartej^s of them m^ay 
perifli in a few days. Every nurferyman of the leaft obferva- 
tion will acknov/Iedge this, having felt it to his fad experience. 
It has happened often within thefe twenty years paft ; and we 
need go no farther back than the year 1771, for a fatal example 
of it, when not only the Scots Firs, but all the other evergreen 
tree-feeds were generally burnt up, nor in many fituations did 
even watering preferve them. Neither is this the only misfor- 
tune that frequently attends late fowing : There is another, and 
a very great one, that never fails, and that neither a kindly fea- 
fon, nor good foil, will prevent, that is, the fmall growth of the 
plants ; from which, if the fucceeding winter is fevere, the 
greateft part of them will either be killed, or fpewed out of the 
ground. 

To prevent thefe frequ'^nt misfortunes, I therefore advife to 
fov/ the feeds in {iw.dj borders of generous loofe mould, at the 
rate of a pound of good feeds in a bed or beds of fixty feet 
long by three and a half broad, about the middle of March, or 



F O 11 E S T - T R E E S. 



133 



as foon after as the land is dry, and the weather favourable. 
About a quarter of an inch thick will be fufficient covering for 
the plants tofpring through ; but if they are covered at firit half 
an inch, andjufl as the feeds begin to vegetate, half of that be 
gently raked off with a fliort-teeth'd rake, it will be a material 
improvement, as by that means the furface, which otherways 
would have been a little hard and battered, will be loofe and 
mellow, nor will the plants meet with any obftrucftion till their 
appearance above ground. This circumftance, which, fo far as 
I have feen, is not attended to at all, is yet of great importance 
in die culture of plants, and fhould not only be pracftifed with 
all the evergreen tribe, but indeed with all tree-feeds in general, 
as it will greatly increafe the number, and accelerate both their 
prefent and future growth. Many thoufands of plants, in flifF 
ground and dry feafons, are fmothered, being unable to drug- 
gie with a hard-crufbed furface, for want of this precaution ; and 
however general the negledl of it has been, it is too obvious to 
require further explanation, as every gardener of common fenfe, 
and the leaft attention, muft plainly perceive this is removing 
obllrudlions, and aflifting nature in her operations. 

I MUST here likewdfe obferve an almoft univerfal error in the 
fowing thefe feeds, which is, that if the nurferyman has them 
not as thick as a bed of Creifes, he efteems them an infufiicient 
crop. This, however, is a moft barbarous and even difhonefl 
pradlice, and the bad effeds of it have, more than any other cir- 
cumftance I know, retarded the fuccefs of our plantations. The 
plants thus raifed as thick as they can ftand, are ftarved and 
dwarfifli, and, from want of air, fo tender, as to be affeded, and 
often to periili, with the firft hard weather ; or if, from fiivour- 



134 TREATISE on 

able clrciimilances in the foil or fitu.ition of the place, they 
fhoukl live, their ihoots are poor and languid, their roots car- 
roty and without- fibres ; in which ftate they will long continue, 
if a fucceecling hard winter does not quite deflroy them. Many 
gentlemen who have purchafed large quantities of firs fo raifed, 
imported from the north of Scotland, and fold for lefs than half 
the price any man can raife good plants for, have paid dear for 
tlieir intended frugality, and are now too fenfible of the truth 
of what is here-obferved. Nor is this practice confined to the 
north of Scotland only ; for, I am forry to fay, it has defufed itfelf 
over moft parts of the kingdom, and at laft reached the capital, 
where feveral people have ftarted up and affumed the character 
of nurferymen, unbred to, and unknowing in the meaneft branch 
of gardening. Thefe gentlemen have adopted the fyftem of 
their northern brethren, and impofed on the ignorant and un- 
wary, by felling their fufiocated trafh, which well they may, 
under the rate of good plants ; whence they have injured the 
fair-dealing intelligent nurferyman, whofe heart difclaims 
receiving money at fo great an expence as deforming, in place 
of beautifying and inriching his country. It is hoped the na- 
ture of the fubje6l will procure pardon for this digreffion, which 
is far from being the effe6l of ill nature or envy, thefe invaders 
being of a fpecies too contemptible to admit of either. Some of 
them have already paid for their prefumption, and it is hoped 
all of them will in due time, as, from the univerfal tafte of plant- 
ing in this kingdom amongfl men of fortune and education, 
they will foon become judges of the difference between good and 
bad plants, and of courfe difcourage the ignorant and diilionefl 
pradices of quacks and impoflors. 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 135 

As the plants begin to appear above ground, if water is to be 
had at no great diftance, and the weather is dry, without frofl, 
it will much promote their growth, to water them in the morn- 
nings early once every four or five days for five or fix weeks, 
when they will have got roots enough to continue growing vi- 
goroufly the remaining part of the fummer, and require no fur- 
ther labour than keeping them clear of weeds. 

From the beginning to the middle of April following, tranf- 
plant them from the feed-bed (cutting away a little of their 
downright roots) to other fliady well-prepared borders, in rows 
fifteen inches afunder and fix or feven inches in the row, and 
give them three or four plentiful waterings at and. foon after 
planting, if the weather require it. The fucceeding Odober and 
March, point over the ground between the rows, which will en- 
courage the fpreading of their fibres, and let them remain here 
two years from their removal ; at which time, from this culture, 
thefe plants will have fuch abundance of roots, with bodies fo 
thick and well-proportioned, that they will encounter all dif5- 
culties, and fucceed in the worfl foils and coldeft fituations, 
much better than feedlings. 

For the purpofe of flieltering fuddenly plantations of finer 
trees, in the garden or wildernefs, with large firs, thefe plants 
may again be removed to another nurfery, and planted in rows 
three feet afunder and eighteen inches in the row, where, after 
{landing two years longer, and digging the ground as formerly, 
they will tranfplant with abfolute fafety, and grow as freely as 
the younger plants, notwithftanding the general prejudice againil: 
<old Scots Firs, which has only a good foundation when they 



2 36 TREATISE on 

have not been tranfplanted feafonably, and otlierways properly 
cultivated. 

In removing thefe plants, either from the feed-bed or from 
one nm'fery to another, while young, I mufl here advife a 
hmple and eafy precaution may never be omitted, which is, to 
have fhanding by you a tub with water and earth, mix'd to fuch 
a confiftence, as that a conhderable quantity of it will adhere to ' 
the roots of the plants : The moment they are raifed, let them be 
plunged in the tub as deep as they flood in the ground ; and if 
they continue for feveral hours in this fituation, it will be fo 
much the better, as in that time they will imbibe a quantity of 
moifture fufficient to enable them to proceed in a growing ftate,, 
and refifb the drought till they have ftruck root, when they will 
fliift for themfelves. By attending to this pradlice, I have oftea 
fiicceeded in the removal of Firs in unfavourable feafons j but 
where it was negletfled, they have generally been cut off. 

Tho' I have recommended the removal of the Scots Fir or 
Pine at a year old, yet I mean that Ihould be underftood under 
certain reflridlions, and only pradlifed when the feeds are early 
fov^n on good foil, as here diredled, and when from a favourable 
feafon they have become good well-grown plants ; but if other- 
ways, and thefe rules have not been obferved, but the ground 
poor, the fowing late and too thick, the plants will be finall, 
ftunted, and tmable to bear tranfplantation, fo muft of courfe 
remain another year ; but even then, they will be much inferior 
to thofe of a year old fown feafonably on good land and mode- 
rately thin. There is but one cure I know of for thick-fown 
ilunted plants, which is, going carefully over the beds when a 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 137 

year old, and drawing them, to proper diflances. This perhaps 
a gentleman's gardener of reflection may be prevailed on to do, 
but many nurferymen will, I am afraid, hardly fubmit to making 
what they may think fo great a facrifice, as throwing away a 
great number even of bad plants to procure a fevv^ good ones. 

It has been an old difpute, which ftlll fubfifts, whether there 
are more forts than one of the Scots Pine or Fir, and 'tis com- 
monly afferted, that the difference we fee in the wood when cut 
down and polifhed, is owing only to the age of the tree, or the 
quality of the foil where it grew ; but this affertion I am obliged 
to believe is not juft, and proceeds from want of fufEcient obfer- 
vation, as I have feen many Fir trees cut clown of equal age in 
the fame fpot, where fome were white and fpungy, others red 
and hard, which to me appears evident, that there arc two di- 
ftindl fpecies of them ; and indeed the difference of colour may 
eafily be difcovered by any one who walks through a new- 
prun'd plantation even of young trees. But having dwelt long 
enough on the Scots, it now becomes necelfary to review fome 
of the other and more beautiful kinds of Pines, 

The fecond, third, fourth, fifth, fixth, feventh, and eighth 
forts, may all be propagated after the fame manner. Thofe have 
carroty deep roots with few fibres, which makes it indefpenfibly 
neceffary to remove them at one year old, when their roots arc 
tender, and will more readily admit of being fliortened than 
when older, very few of them fucceeding at removal from the 
feed-bed above that age. This being the cafe, you muft endea- 
vour to make the plants as ftrong as pofTible the nrft year. The 
feeds of thefe Pines do not rife near fo foon as thofe of Scots, 

S 



S3>S TREATISE o 

.and therefore they may with fnfetj be fown a fortnight earher, 
that is, about the beginning of March. Thus fowing them as 
early as the feafon will permit, is the only certain method of 
procuring ftrong plants. The ground then being prepared in a 
lhady well-flieltered htuation, fow the feeds in fliallow drills 
made with your hands, a foot afunder, and moderately thin in the 
drill. This indeed will employ much more ground than fowing 
them in beds, but the far better quality of the plants ought to 
outweigh that confideration ; for, as moft of the Pines come up 
with heavy tops and ilender bodies, they are equally fubjed; to 
be dafhed to pieces by the winter's winds and rains, as fpewed 
out of the ground by the frofts ; but by this method of fowing, 
the earth can be dravvai up to the plants with a fmall hoe from 
time to time, fo as to fecure them from all the feverities of an 
ordinary feafon. 

When the buds begin to flvell, next fpring, raife the plants, 
cutting away a little from the extremity of their downright roots, 
and obferve immediately to immerfe them in water and earth 
fome hours, as diredled for the Scots Pine ; then plant them in 
a flieltered fliady border in drills cut out with the fpade, at 
eighteen inches afunder, and feven or eight inches in the drill ; 
water them at planting, and continue to do fo moderately as tlic 
weather requires, till you fee them in a free growing ftate ; let 
them remain here two years, taking care to keep the ground 
clean and mellow in the furface, and pointing it over between 
the lines in autumn and fpring. 

Th f four lafl; mentioned kinds are fomewhat tenderer for two 
or three years, but will afterwards bear the greateft feverity of 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 139 

our winters very well :, I would therefore aclvifc them to be 
fown in pots of fine rich loofe earth, protedled from the fun in 
fummer, and all violent rains for the firft year, but expofed to 
the fun during the winter and early fpring months, under the 
prote6lion of a frame without glaffes, over which a mat may be 
thrown in fevere weather, which mull regularly be removed on 
its becoming temperate. 

The following fpring, as the buds begin to fwell, plant them 
out either within an old frame without glafles as formerly, or in 
a bed arched over with hoops, to admit of being covered with 
mats in bad weather. In thefe beds or frames, place them in 
lines, a foot afunder, and feven or eight inches in the lines ; for 
five or fix weeks after planting, let them be fliaded from the mid- 
day fun, till well eftablifhed, and in a free-growing flate, after 
which they will require no attention but in ftormy weather, and 
that the firft year only from their removal, as, in the month of 
May the fecond year, the frames may be removed during the fum- 
mer, and replaced in winter, though not covered, but in the event 
of a very fevere ftorm. 

From thefe quarters all the Pines may be removed the fuc- 
ceeding fpring, to where they are intended to remain for good, 
in large plantations ; but for fmaller defigns, and an immediate 
fliow, they may be tranfplanted with fafety, to the height 
of fix or feven feet, and fome of them larger, if removed every 
fecond year, and cultivated as here direded. 

The firft mentioned feven kinds are inhabitants of the moun- 
tains, and delight in a hard rocky foil; the four following forts 

S 2 



140 TREATISE on 

afFeifl a deep and moift ground ; and the New-England Pine, the 
moft beautiful of all the tribe, loves a generous, deep, but not 
wet land, either naturally prote(5led from violent ftorms, or un- 
der the covert of fome plantation, otherways, as it advances in 
height, it lofes its fhining verdure, and becomes ragged and 
unfightly ; but, interfperfed with other trees, in a foil it loves, 
and at a proper diftance from them, it grows in this climate lux- 
uriantly, and will foon become a noble plant. It is the moft 
patient of all the Pines in tranfplanting either young or old, as 
its roots naturally tend lefs downward, and produces abundance 
of fpreading fibres. I have removed them at tv/elve feet high 
with the greateft fuccefs, though even thefe had not been cultir 
vated as they ought for that purpofe. 

Th e ufes of the timber of Scots Pine are univerfally known^ 
All the other kinds are clofer, harder, and more lafting : But 
that of the New-England is much more beautiful and valuable 
than any of the forts ; it is of a darker colour, poliflies veiy 
fniooth, and has fome refembiance of the Cedar. 



r O R E S T - T R E E S. 141 



Chapter XXVI. 
The fi r tree. 

The Species are : 

1. The Norway, or Spruce Fir Tree. 

2. The black American Spruce Fir Tree. 

3. The white American Spruce Fir Tree, 

4. The Silver Fir Tree. ^ 

5. The Balmof Gilead Fir Tree, 

6. The Hemlock Spruce Fir Tree. 

^"I^HOUGH all the writers on gardening I have read make 
no material diftindlion in the fowing and future culture 
of the Fir from the Pine tree, yet, to my certain experience, a- 
very different practice ought to be obferved, particularly in fome 
of the forts, and that for the moft obvious reafons. The Pine 
trees, the New-England only excepted, have downright roots 
with few fibres. Thefe roots, at tranfplanting, mufl necelTarily be. 
reduced, which, if done after they become hard and woody, will 
deftroy the greateft part of them. The roots of the Fir tree, on 
the contrary, fpread near the furface, produce plenty of fibres, 
and do not grow near the fize of the Pines in general the firft year ; 
from whence, I think, nature plainly points out to us the propriety 
of their remaining two years in the feminary with fafety, and 
eyen advantage, wliich, to the Pines, from the circumflances men- 
tioned, mufl prove deftru6live : I iliall therefore defcribe the 
practice I have found moft fuccefsful. 



TREATISE OH 



About tlie middle of March, fow the firft, fecond, and thh'd 
forts on beds, in a lliady well-jQieltered border, but much thinner 
than the Pines, as they are to remain two years. 

The three remaining forts do not rife by a fortnight at leaft 
fo foon as thefe do ; and as they make very Httle progrefs the firft 
year, all art and induftry fiiould be ufed to promote their growth 
as much as poffible, otherways many of them will be fpew'd out 
of the ground, and the weaker plants entirely killed, if the fol- 
lowing winter is fevere,. The befl fecurity, therefore, againft all 
thefe common accidents being to fow early, let them be fown a 
a fortnight fooner than the three preceding kinds, that is, by the 
beginning of March, the weather permitting. The ground for 
the feeds of thefe plants cannot be too rich a natural foil, or too 
finely prepared ; it mufc alfo be loofe and dry, which, if not of 
that quality originally, mull be rendered fo, by mixing it with 
fand,, and elevating the beds fix or feven inches above the alleys, 
to draw away the moifture. 

The Balm of Gilead, and Hemlock Spruce, are a little tenderer 
at firft than the other forts, and will be much aided in their 
growth, if the beds are hoop'd over, and covered with mats for 
five or fix weeks after the plants appear above ground, both in 
the middle of the day when the fun is warm, and at night 
when the air is cold or frofty ; and, during that time, they will 
require a gentle watering every fecond evening when it does not 
rain. 

At lowing all the kinds of Firs, negledl not to clap over the 
beds with the back of a fpade. This makes the furface fmooth 
and level, prevents the feeds from being iiTegularly fcattered in 



F O R E S T - T R E }l S. 



143 



drawing on the earth with the rake, and is in feveral other re- 
fpedts of advantage. 

As thefe plants bring up the Imflc of the feed on their tops, 
the fmall birds, who arc very fond of them, will deftroy all 
or the greateft part, if they are not guarded againft. Every gar- 
dener has liis own way of doing this ; but the belt method I know, 
is to procure a parcel of old liiliing nets, and fpread them over 
the beds, fupported by cuttings of copfe-wood, or other prunings 
of trees, laid acrofs flakes ; and thofe nets are to be purchafed 
at any fea-port town, for a mere trifle. 

In the autumn after fowing, go over your beds, and, with 
your fingers, carefully pick off all moffy hard-crufted particles, 
replacing them with an equal quantity of the richeft beft pre- 
pared foil ; over which fift fome chaff, or rather faw-duft that 
has lain fome time and loft its firey quality. This will keep the 
plants warm, and prevent the ground from fwelling with the 
froft, which, if it does, is apt to fpew them up : It will like- 
ways be neceffary, in hard froft or violent rains, to throw a mat 
over the two laft kinds, but regularly uncover them in mild 
weather. ^ ' 

In the fucceeding fpring, and dm^ing the months of May and 
June, the plants v/ill ftill be much invigorated by frequent wa- 
terings, and in autumn let the beds be treated as in the former ; 
for though the feediings are from this time till fpring in a ftate 
of reft, and can, from no culture, be afTifted in their growth till 
then, yet the mufty parts contracted on the furface, will, by the 
winter rains, be walhed into the earth, which it will contami- 
nate, and communicate difeafes to the plants, from Vxdiich they 
will flowly recover. This circumftance, though in general little 



TREATISE on 

attended to, is yet of the greateft importance to all feedling 
trees. 

Trom the feed-bed, at two years old, in the fpring when their 
buds begin to fwell, thefe plants may be removed, and treated 
as has been directed for the Pines of one year's growth ; but as 
all the kinds of them w^ill tranfplant, at a confiderable fize, with 
the greateft fuccefs, when properly managed, I fhall add a few 
lines on that fubjedl, as a nurfery of the fine kinds of Firs, eight 
or ten feet high, would be a very valuable acquifition, either to 
a private gentleman, or a nurferyman ; and few men of fortune, 
I believe, would fcruple beftowing a little extraordinary expence 
to cover a naked field, flicker a new planted garden, or adorn a 
nev7-buik houfe with fo goodly ornaments. 

These plants, being no four years old, muft be tranfplanted 
to another fpot of good land, and placed in rows two and a half 
feet afunder and fourteen or fixteen inches diftant in the row ; 
water them at planting, and continue it once a week, five or fix 
times, v^hen it does not rain, keeping the ground clear of weeds 
in fummer, and mellow by autumn and fpring digging, in which 
jjtuation they may remain .three years. 

From thence remove them again in fpring at the ufual time, 
fiiortening their ftraggling roots moderately, and plant them in 
rows four feet afander and two feet in the row, to remain three 
years longer. 

If required larger, remove them again, and plant them at fix 
feet afunder every way, to remain two, but not above three years 
more ; by which time, in good land, and under the culture here 
direded, the three fi.rft mentioned kinds will be from fourteen 



' . 1' O R E S T - T R E E S. 145 

to fixteen, and the Silver I'ir from ten to twelve feet high. Thus 
managed, thefe trees will rife with fuch abundant bails of earth 
about their roots, as will prevent their receiving the lead injury 
at removal, nor will their future growth be in the fmallefl degree 
retarded by it. Particular directions for their tranfplantation 
would here be unnecefTary, as the rules prefcribed for large En- 
glifh Elm, and other deciduous trees, will anfwer for them, Jmd 
moft others, with refpe(5l to making the pits, and preparing the 
foil : Only it may be necefTary to obfervc, that thefe, and other 
large Evergreens, in general require more frequent tho' gentler 
waterings, at and foon after tranfplanting, than the deciduous 
kinds ; — to which I muft add, that they ought not to have a 
fingle branch taken away at this time, but, the year before, iliould 
be reduced to their defired form, which is only pruning off their 
under-branches a foot or eighteen inches above ground ; and, 
after having flood two years longer, they may be further redu- 
ced, by annually taking away a tire of branches, till their trunks 
are cleared the intended height, which I think (in woods for 
timber only excepted) ought never to be done above ten or 
twelve feet from the furface, their greateft beauty confifting in 
the graceful wave of their luxuriant branches from the top to 
near the bottom. 

The three firft-mentioned Spruce Firs will grow tolerably 
well in dry, gravelly, or rocky ground, but much more affc6ls 
that which is deep, where, though very coarfe, and barren in the 
production of vegetables, they will grow freely. 

The Silver Fir, which I have ever thought the mofi: magnifi- 
cent tree of all the Evergreen tribe that our climate produces in 
full perfecftion, it is in vain to plant in hot, dry, or rocky 

T 



146 TREATISE ON 



fituations, where they commonly not only lofe their top-fhoots, 
but their under-branches foon become ragged, and, in place of 
that lively fhining verdure peculiar to them in a foil they affecfl, 
they become of a pale languid hue ; nay I have known trees of 
them above twenty years planted out in fuch foils, entirely de- 
ftroyed by a hot dry fummer. At the fame time they are in other 
refpedls amongfb the leaft delicate of any plants in the choice of 
their food, as the largeft and mod flourifliing trees of them I 
have ever feen over this ifland, in general grow on four, heavy, 
obftinate clay, of all different qualities and colours ; and though 
for ten or twelve years they do not advance fo faft as feveral of 
the other Firs and Pines, yet in twenty they will outgrow them, 
all, and continue that advantage till they arrive to their greateft . 
magnitude. 

These trees, like the other more common forts intended for 
timber only, Ihould not, as they commonly are, be planted clofe 
together in thickets, but require a free circulation of air, other* 
ways their intermingled branches will deftroy one another. 

The Balm of Gilead Fir, though it is defcribed as growing 
to a large fize in America, and is ranked in our catalogues with 
the talleft trees, yet I never faw them in this country of any 
great magnitude. It requires a generous deep-feeding foil, and 
fheltered fituation, to which, from its lingular beauty and ele* 
gance, it is juftly intitled, and it claims our culture and care. 

The Hemlock Spruce Fir is a pretty plant, but delicate, and,, 
to fucceed well with us, muft have a good foil, and warm fitua- 
tion : It will likeways be improved by tying its leading flioot, t3 > 
a flake annually as it advances. 



F G R K S T - T R E E S. 147 



Though I have diretfled tlie fpriiig as the mofl proper fcafoii 
for planting Firs and Pines, which, for fcedlings, and tender 
forts, it is, — yet I mufl beg the Reader's fvirther indulgence a 
little, in recommending what will be found the greateft improve- 
ment ever was pra6lifed on moft of the Evergreen fpecies, if ge- 
nerally attended to. The experiment is cheap and eafy, and 1 
want no more than the trial to have it approved by all the 
planters in Great Britain. It is no more, than, in place of the 
fpring, to plant all the hardy kinds of them that have arrived 
to a foot in height and upwards in Auguft, as foon as they 
have perfedled their (hoots. Many thoufands, for a fiiccefllon of 
years, have I planted at that feafon, without once having failed 
in my moft fanguine expe<5latiGns ; but before that trial, in un- 
kindly fprings, and dry fummers, I have loft great numbers, 
though all polTible care had been taken ; and I dare fay, every 
extenhve and ingenuous planter will acknowledge his cafe has 
been fimilar to mine. Though experience is the only unerring 
guide in operations of Gardening, yet there appears good natu- 
ral reafons in favour of this feafon : The flioots of the plants 
are now ripened, — the ground is ftill warm, and pregnant with 
vegetation, — by working tfie earth, that vegetation is as it were 
artificially put in frefli arid more vigorous motion, — rain at this 
time is feldom or never wanted ; — all which circumftances con- 
joined, muft prove highly favourable to new-planted trees: 
From this happy temperature of the earth and feafon, the trees 
ftrike root immediately as if in a hot-bed, and have nothing to 
oppofe them till the froft comes on, before which they are fufli- 
ciently eftabliftied, and ftrengthened to refift its power. To all 
thefe advantages, the expence of watering in the fpring and 
fummer months is faved, the winter rains having provided a- 
gainft the common danger of fuffering from dry weather ; and 

T 2 



143 TREATISE on 

laftly, tills is, properly fpeaking, faving time, being a much 
more convenient feafon of the year than the fpring for an exten- 
five plantation, as then, from the great variety of operations to 
be done both in the gardens and fields, it is with difficulty they 
can all be duly attended to, and properly executed. 

I NOW conclude this (I am afraid too tedious) difcourfe on 
Firs, with obferving, that I have often been farprifed ths cic^ts 
Pine or Fir fhould be the only Evergreen indifcriminately aied to 
any great extent in every foil and lituation, thought incapable 
of producing the better kinds of Foreft-trees. I acknowledge 
they are applied with great propriety in mountainous, rocky, 
chalky, fandy and gravelly places but in hungry deep till, and 
clay, the Spruce Fir will much farpafs them in growth. And 
this being a tree of much greater beauty, more valuable timber, 
and propagated with the fame facility, Why do we not encou- 
rage it in ample plantations where the foil invites ? as few plants 
would contribute more to our pleafure and profit, in many ex- 
tenfive, though now cold and gloomy, tra6ls of land. For Ever- 
green hedges in cold fituations, to flicker gardens or other 
plantations, I know no plant on earth fo proper as the Norway 
Spruce Fir : They are ftrong fences, grow amazingly faft, fheep 
or cattle do not annoy them, and, by clipping them in moift 
weather, when they begin to flioot in the fpring, thin at top, 
and gradually thicker to the bottom, they will continue many 
years beautiful and verdant. 

All the kinds of Firs are injured by lopping the old wood, 
and therefore ought to be pruned when the branches are young 
and tender. The beft feafon for pruning them, is as early in 
autumn as the fap is at reft. 



FO REST-TREES. 



149 



Chapter XXVII. 
The cedar TREE, 



The Species are : 

1. The Cedar of Libanus. 

2. The red Virginian Cedar. 

3. The white-berried Virginian Cedar. 

4. The Cedar of Bermudas. 

5. The Tree, or Swedifh Juniper. 

'TP HE cones of the Cedar of Libanus were formerly brought 
to Britain from the Levant j but the Englifli trees have 
fince produced abundance,, and thofe of a better quality than 
the foreign. The late Mr Philip Miller, (whofe memory I fhall 
ever revere as my worthy friend, and moft indulgent communi- 
cative mafter), who, from his naturally acute and ingenious ob- 
fervations, as well as having four of the fineft plants in 
England under his diredtion, nov^ growing in the Phyfic-garden 
of Chelfea, muft have had accefs to know tlie nature of this tree 
better than moft men, — juftly obferves,- That they are more apt 
both to produce and ripen their cones in hard than mild winters ; 
and of the Englifh producing more and better feeds, I have 
certain demonftration, having, from his bounty, annually re- 
ceived a prefent of a conliderable quantity of his cones for above 
twenty years, which never failed, though thofe from abroad, 
purchafed at a high price, often did. 

These noble and magnificent trees at Chelfea having been for 
feveral years under my almoft daily view, I could not help con- 



TREATISE ON 



cc'ivinr ;i lu<>h regard for this plant ; and from the favourable 
opportunity I had of procuring its cones, (then not fo plenty as 
now), T have raifed many more of them than any man ever did 
in Scotland, and was the firfl who made them frequent in this 
part of the kingdom ; from which circumflances, and making 
different experiments on their culture, I imagine I am able to 
direcfl it properly ; nor indeed does that require any great pene- 
tration, as, after three or four years growth, they are very hardy. 

The way to get out the feeds, is by fplitting the cones thro' 
the centre with a fliarp piece of iron length-ways, and picking 
them out with your fingers, which may eafily be done, after ex- 
poling them for fome hours on the hearth before a warm fire. 
If the cones are two years old, they will emit their feeds more 
readily than thofe lately gathered, and the feeds be equally good, 

Th e beft foil to raife thefe plants on, is rich old cow-pafhure 
earth, which, if not naturally of a light quality, mix with a 
fourth or fifth part of fea-fand, 'or that taken from the fides of 
rivulets, well blended together for fome months before it is ufed. 
I have mentioned this tree as very hardy at three or four years 
old, neither is it delicate from the beginning ; but at the fame 
time, it is abfolutely neceffary to give them abundant nourifh- 
ment at firft, in order to make fair and vigorous plants ; for if 
they once become dwarfifh, ftunted, or lofe their leading flioot, 
no art will afterwards reftore them to a good figure : Therefore, 
the raifing a number of plants, which any tolerable gardener 
may eafily do, is not the only thing required ; it is raifing them 
of a healthful comely figure, and this cannot be done without 
fome fkill and attention. In order to effedl it, obferve the fol- 
lowing rules ; 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 151 



Having prepared the foil as before mentioned, in a flieltercd 
fituation expofed only to the morning fun, place an old hot- 
bed frame thereon, and put in it the depth of feven or eight 
inches of this mould, in which fow the feeds the beginning of 
March, in fliallow drills made with your finger, a foot or four- 
teen inches afunder. About a fortnight after fowing, the wea- 
ther being dry, give them a very gentle fprinkling of water every 
fecond evening while it continues fo. In about fix weeks the 
plants will appear above ground, when, if the nights are frofly, 
which is often the cafe at this feafon, let a mat be thrown over 
them in the evening, and taken off next morning or forenoon, 
when the fun difpels the frofl. After this time, the weather be- 
ing mild and dry, the waterings muft be regularly though gen- 
tly continued ; and now it will be fafeft to do it in the mor- 
nings till the froft is over, after which they will receive more 
benefit from it in the evenings. 

These Cedars come up, and continue the firft year, with re- 
markably tall and thin bodies, and with heavy tops, inclining 
to hang downwards : They have downright roots, with fev^ 
fibres ; and tlieir roots penetrate lefs into the earth at firfl 
than any plant I know, in fo much that I have feen o-reat num- 
bers of them laid flat, and beat entirely out of the ground with 
the rains, even in the fummer months. To remedy this com- 
mon misfortune, no method is equal to drawing up the mould 
about their items, at fundry times as they advance in growth, 
which will not only preferve, but much invigorate the plant?. 
This being attended to, they will require no further care till 
next feafon, but covering the frame with a mat in violent rains 
or fevere froft, never omitting to uncover them in mild weather. 



TREATISE ON 



The following fpring, prepare another fpot in the fame man- 
ner as for the feed, but let the compoft foil be twelve or fourteen 
inches deep, having cut off the points of their downright roots 
with a very fharp knife, which, being tender, w^ould other- 
wavs tear their fibres ; immerfe them in fuch palp as has been 
directed for the Pines and Firs, about half an hour, and plant 
them in beds eighteen inches by a foot afunder. If thefe beds 
are hooped acrol's, and a mat thrown over them during the heat 
of the dav, till their roots have ftruck, and their leaves begin to 
expand, it will much accelerate their growth ; and during any 
fevere ftorm the fucceeding winter, this ought ftill to be repeated. 
It will likeways be neceffary, the firfl fummer, to draw a little 
earth to the ftems of the plants, as mentioned for the feedlings, 
and to give them frequent gentle w^aterings during the growing 
feafon. By next fpring the Cedars will be out of danger, the 
hoops and mats will be of no further ufe, and the plants require 
only common culture in all time coming. 

These plants being now three years old, will be hardy 
enough for removal to a common nurfery, in any ordinary foil 
or iituation, where, about the beginning of April, they fhould 
be planted in lines two and a half feet afunder, and fourteen or 
fixteen inches diftant in the line. At tranfplanting, continue to 
reduce the downright roots, and fliorten the fmaller fibres mode- 
rately, which v/ill occalion their producing many more new 
roots, fo as afterwards to rife with bulks of earth clofely adhe- 
ring to them ; — it will be neceffary to fteep them in palp as for- 
merly, to water them at planting, and to continue it every fourth 
or fifth evening for fix weeks, the weather being dry. Here let 
them continue two years, when they may be removed to the pla- 
ces in which they are meant to remain j or, if defired larger for 



r O R K S T - T R E E S. 153 

futare defigns, they may again be tranfplantcd to anotlicr quar- 
ter, and placed in rows five feet afunder and three feet in the 
row, to continue three years longer; and they will afterwards fuc- 
ceed equally well as the youngeft plant, by fcafonably repeated 
waterings. 

The above culture I recommend as beft for private perfons, 
who have them to remove only from their nurfery to the adjoin- 
ing fields ; but for nurferymen, who often fend them to a great 
diftance, I would advife a parcel of them' to be put in pots nine 
inches diameter, at three years old, where, after keeping them 
three years longer, they may be ihaken out of thefe pots with 
their whole bulks of earth entire, and, being wrapt in a piece of 
-mat, may with fafety be tranfported to the remoteft corners of 
the ifland, and will keep feveral manths out of the ground with- 
,out fuffering any injury. 

When the plants begin to grow freely, the leading ihoot al- 
ways inclines to one fide : To remedy this, you muft thruft in a 
flake by the fide of each plant, and tye the leader clofe to it, till 
you have got them to a coniiderable height, otherways their 
branches, which naturally expand a great way, will prevent their 
growing tall. 

To whatever height you intend clearing the trunks of thofe 
Cedars, (which ought never to be great, as much of their beauty 
confifts in being cloathed with their noble verdant boughs to 
near the furface), let the branches be cut off v/hen young and 
tender, as no tree I know refents lopping their old wood 10 
much. Mr Miller, in the Gardener's Didionary, mentions tvv'o 

U 



154 T^REATISE on 

of his four trees having been fo ufed, to admit the rays of the- 
fun into a green-haufe, whereby they were fo much checked, as, 
in above forty years growth, to be Httle more than half the lize 
of the other two : And I myfelf have experienced a circumftance 
entirely fnnilar ; for, having planted two Cedars about twenty- 
four years fince, then three feet high, which for lixteen years; 
grew amazingly faft, and promifed to be noble plants, an igno- 
rant gardener unadvifedly cut off feveral of their oldefl Under- 
branches, fmce which they have advanced little or nothing in 
height, have loft their leading flioots, and become ragged andi 
bulhy. 

Though thefe trees, when young, require all the culture and' 
flielter here directed to make them handfome and vigorous, yet, 
when five or fix years old, no plant will better endure our moft 
fevere feafons, or grow in more forbidding, poor, and hungry 
foil, the largeft trees of them now known in the world being 
in the coldefl and moft expofed places, covered great part of the 
year with fnow from whence, it cannot be doubted, but that 
they might become a great ornament, and valuable improvementy 
ii" generally planted in Great-Britain.. 

Many pages have been wrote by learned men on the virtues 
of the wood of this tree, as, that it is proof againft all putrefac- 
tion of animal bodies, — that it yields an oil famous for prefer- 
ving books and writings,^ — that the great Sefoftris King of Egypt 
built a veffel of Cedar, two hundred and eighty cubits long, — 
that in the temple of Apollo Utica, was found frefh timber near 
two thoufand years old, — and that the ftatue of the Goddefs in the 
Ephefian temple was of this material, as was moft of the timbeu— 
work of that glorious ftrudure, <6'C,. 



P O R E S T - T R E E S. 



155 



The red and white Virginian Cedars are cafily propagated, 
hy fowing their berries in the fpring on beds of good mellow 
light foil, expofed only to the morning fun, and otherways fhel- 
tered by trees, hedges, or walls. Thefc feeds will remain a year 
in the ground before they appear ; during which time, the beds 
muft be kept clean, and the furface fweet and loofe : It will 
likeways be necelTary, in extreme drought, to give them now and 
then a gentle fprinkling of water, which will keep the berries in 
vigour, as otherways I have known many of them perifli, and the 
remainder come up weak, late, and irregular in the fpring, after a 
very dry fummer. As the plants make fmall progrefs the firft year, 
they may remain two years in the feed-bed ; they mufi:, both the 
iummer feafons, be frequently refrefhed with water, and let the 
furface of the beds in autumn be drefled as has been directed 
for other feedlings. 

The fpring following, remove them to another well- fheltered 
fpot, of the fame quality as for the feed, and plant them in lines, 
eighteen inches afunder, and nine or ten inches diftant in the 
line ; give them the fame kind of culture formerly dire(5led for 
Evergreens of that age^ and let them remain two years. 

Erom thence remove them to another quarter of the nurfery, 
in any ordinary foil and fituation, cutting away the extreme 
parts of their roots, with any of the crowded or ill-placed 
branches, and plant them in lines, three and a half feet afunder, 
and two feet in the Hne ; let them be watered at planting, and 
frequently after it in dry weather, till paft mid- fummer, keeping 
the ground entirely clean ; and here they ought to remain three 
years, when they will be of a proper fize to be planted out for good. 

U 2- 



156 TREATISE ON 

I WOULD likeways advife nurferymen to pot fome of tliefe 
plants, as dire6led for the Cedar of Libanus, to tranfport to any 
great diflance ; they are alfo very proper to mix with myrtles, 
annual flowers, and other potted plants, to adorn the borders of 
the flower-garden or court. 

Th e Tree, or Swediili Juniper, may be treated in all refpedk. 
as the red and white Cedars. 

The Bermudas Cedar is more delicate and flower of growth 5, 
when young, than the forts mentioned; it will therefore be aa 
improvement to fow their berries in pots, to - keep them in the 
lhade during the fummer months, and under a frame the follow- 
ing winter. In the fpring, when the feeds begin to vegetate, 
plunge the pots into a moderate hot-bed till the month of July, 
froni whence they will advance more in one feafon, than two in 
their natux^al ilate, and make better plants,,. 

The fucceeding fpring,. plant each of them in halfpenny pots, 
and again plunge them in a hot-bed till July, when, in mild 
weather, they may by degrees be inured to the open air, and. 
next fpring put into penny pots, where they fhould remain two 
years, when they ought, once more, either tobefhifted into two- - 
penny pots, or planted in a well-fheltered place of the, nurfery 
for three years, by which time they will refift our feverefl winters 
very welL Though this procefs m_ay to fome appear trouble- 
fome, it is only fo in. a very trifling degree to a good g3.rdener, 
who has proper conveniencies for executing his bufinefs ; and,, 
the Bermudas Cedar, being a plant of great beauty and elegance,, 
is well worth bellowing a little extraordinary £ains in bringing ■ 
it foon to perfedion,. 



FOREST-TREES. 157 

The mo Virginian kinds, and Swedilh Juniper, will grow 
by cuttings, from which I have raifed many handfome plants : 
This may either be done the beginning of April or end of Augufl, 
the latter of which feafons I have found mofl fuccefsful. Be- 
ing then provided with branches of one or two years growth^ 
cut or tear them afunder at the joints, leaving a knob of the old 
wood at them, and clear off the leaves or fmall tvv^igs as far as 
the cuttings are to be buried in the ground, which, if they 
will admit of it, may be about fix inches ; plant them in lines 
eighteen inches diftant, in a fliady border of rich loofe earth, and 
refrelli them with water as the feafon may require. The fol- 
lowing fummer, let the ground between the earth be kept loofe 
and mellow, by frequent ftirring with a trowel ^ water them 
every third or fourth evening in dry weather, and the fecond 
fpring they will be fufficiently rooted to tranfplant to the quar- 
ters of the nurfery, there to be treated as the feedlings. 

The Bermudas Cedar will likeways grow by cuttings, tho' 
not fo freely in the open ground j but ten or twelve of them put 
in a penny pot, and plunged into a hot-bed of tanners bark, will 
root liberally in one fummer ; and if taken out of thofe pots the 
fucceeding fpring, put in feparate ones of the fame fize, and a- 
gain plunged in the hot-bed another fummer, they will be larger 
plants than the feedlings at four years old, and m.ay afterwards 
be treated, as has been dire(fled for them. 

I HAVE often heard gardeners, of m-ore than common ingenui- 
ty, boaft they have raifed abundaace of good plants from cut- 
tings of the Cedar of Libanus. This knovrlcdgc I have been 
dull or unlucky enough not yet to arrive at, I have tried everv 



15S TREATISE ON 

method for this purpofc I could devife, but never could procure 
nor ever faw a healthful fliapely plant of them fo raifed : I can 
make them live, but in plants as well as animals fomething 
more than bare exiilence is fiirely wanted. 

There are various other forts of Cedars, but the rules here 
laid down for the culture of thofe mentioned are fufficient, to lead 
to the whole, by only obferving, that fuch feeds or plants as are 
brought from warm and temperate regions, require more aid 
and protedlion for fome time, than others from more inhofpitable 
climes. 

In the culture of all the Cedars, as well as that of Libanus, let it 
be an invariable rule, to prune and reduce them to their proper form 
when the branches are young, from whence their wounds will 
immediately heal ; but which if neglefted till old and woody, 
fo great an efFulion of fap will flow from them in hot weather, 
as to render the trees weak and unhealthy, if it does not dellroy 
them. 

There is perhaps no fpecies of trees fucceeds in a greater va- 
riety of foils, or in more oppofite climates, than the Cedars do : 
They grow in all extremes, in the moift Barbadoes, the hot Ber- 
mudas, and the cold New-England ; they thrive in the bogs of 
America, and the mountains of Afia. We have now many good- 
ly thriving trees of them in Britain, and, from the almoft in- 
credible value of the wood, joined to the extraordinary beauty of 
the plants, we have every encouragement to make more extenfive 
and general plantations of them. 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 159 

Chapter XXVIII. 
The cypress TREE. 

The Species are: 

1. The common upright Cypress Tree., 

2. The male-fpreading Cypress Tree^ 

3. The Virginian or deciduous Cypress Tree. 

4. The American Cypress Tree, commonly called the 

White Cedar. 

^T^HE firfl, fecond, and third forts, are propagated by fowing 
their feeds in fheltered lhady borders of fine rich loofe 
earth, about the middle of March, which in five or fix weeks 
will appear above ground,, when they muft be regularly watered 
in the evenings of mild dry weather, every third or fourth night,, 
and this continued, giving them little at a time, till the middle 
of Auguft ; and if in the beginning of winter fome faw-dufh is 
fifted over them, as directed for the Firs, it will much contri- 
bute to their prefervation in the event of fevere weather. 

Th e following fpring, thefe plants, which, Vv'-ell managed, will 
be fix or feven inches high, muft be removed to the lame kind 
of foil and fituation they were in the feminary, their downright 
roots fiiortened, and planted in lines eighteen, inches afunder and 
eight or nine inches in the line, where, as their roots naturally 
incline more to run deep than fpread on the furface, and as they 



■r6o . T R E A T f S E 



arc plants of free growth, they fliould remain no more than one 
)'ear, when they ought to be upwards of a foot high. 

Th EiiEFOR E, the fucceeding fprifig, plant them in the com- 
mon mirlery, in Hnes three feet afiuider and eighteen inches in 
the hne ; water them at planting, and repeat it once every week, 
the weather being dry, till they have ftruck root and begin to 
grow freely, when they w^ill require no further trouble than 
keeping them clean, and pointing over the ground between the 
lines in autumn and fpring. 

Having flood in this nurfery two years, they may be remo- 
-ved to the places where they are deiigned to remain, which may 
be fully more proper at this age than when older. Thefe trees lofe 
their greatefl beauty when much pruned ; but their tops being 
very heavy, and branches flexible, the winds take much impref- 
fion on them, in fo much that I have known quantities blown 
entirely out of the ground that were moved about fix feet high 
two years before : It is therefore better to give them a firm 
eftablifliment in the earth while the plants are young, and vs^hen 
there will not be the fame neceffity of taking away fo many of 
their boughs as they would otherways require. 

The method mentioned is the eafieft and quickefl way to 
raife large quantities of thefe plants ; but as it is no uncommon 
thing for a hard winter to deflroy whole beds of them, at one, 
and even two years old, it becomes neceffary in fome meafure to 
provide againft fuch misfortunes, by fowing part of your feeds 
iu pots.. 



T O R E S T - T R E E S. i6i 



Tor this purpofe, being provided with foil of the quality for- 
merly mentioned, fow them at the fame time in yom' pots, and co- 
ver them about a quarter of an inch deep ; place them in a fliel- 
tered fituation, fo as to receive only the morning fun till ten or 
eleven o'clock ; keep them regularly though moderately watered, 
and in Odlober remove the pots under a frame, fo as they may 
be protedled in fevere weather. 

The fucceeding fpring, fhake them out of thefe pots, and 
plant them in others of fourteen or fixteen inches diameter, each 
of which will contain from fixteen to twenty plants : Let them 
be placed in the fliade till in a free growing ftate, in winter re- 
moved under a frame, and afterwards treated as diredled for the 
others of the fame age. 

The American Cyprefs is fomewhat tenderer and flower of 
growth than the fore-mentioned forts, and they continue a year 
in the ground before they appear ; I would therefore advife all 
thefe to be fown in pots, and treated the firfl feafon as the other 
forts : But the fucceeding fpring, when the feeds begin to vege- 
tate, having cleared the furface of mouldy particles, and replaced 
that by fifting on frefli earth in proportion, plunge the pots into a 
moderate hot-bed till June, and afterwards gradually inure them 
to the open air, placing them fo as to be proteded during the 
hardfhips of winter. 

Th e following fpring, put fixteen or twenty of thefe in other 
pots, in the fame manner as the former kinds ; only plunge 
them again in a hot-bed for about two months, and proted them 
during the fucceeding v/inter as before. In thefe pots they may 

X 



TREATI S E ON 



remain another year, without any more trouble than keeping 
them clean, and refrelliing them with frequent waterings ; after 
which they may be removed to the nurfery, and planted in lines 
three feet afunder and eighteen inches in the line, where they 
fliould remain three years, and then be tranfplanted to the places, 
where, they are meant to continue for good„. 

Thes e trees require a particular addrefs in pruning them ^, 
for if they are trim'd clofe up to any confiderable height, their 
bodies will be fo flender as to bear no proportion to their 
weighty tops : The beft method therefore of ordering them, fo 
as both to preferve their beauty an-d accelerate their growth, is, 
to cut away from, the top to near the bottom all ill-placed forked 
branches, (of which this plant produces many), referving only, as 
proper diftances, fuch as are vigorous, and radiate diredly from 
the body. This is an eafy operation, and wiU require very lit- 
tle repetition,, the: tree not being difpofed to put out young 
branches from: the old ftem. By pruning them, judicioufly in 
this manner, their thick branchy trunks will counterpoife their 
heavy heads, and render them able to refifl the winds. 

The firjft and fecond forts affeft a dry, fandy, or gravelly foil ; 
the third, in Virginia, is generally found in moift fwampy pla- 
ces, and fometimes in conftant ftanding water ; but the American 
fort I; have always found fucceed beft in a. good deep-feeding 
earth, neither too wet nor too dry* 

The Cyprefs has not only a fine effed when mix*d' with (tho* 
not crowded near) other trees, but is of moft plants the properefl 
50. place round or near buildings, where their upright pyramidal! 



F O R E S T - T R E K S. 163 

growth has a very pldlurefque appearance without ob{lru6lmg 
the view, and thek dark-green leaves make a moft agreeable 
contrail with the white of the building. The Italian villas owe 
no fmall part of their beauty to the proper diilribution of many 
Cyprefs trees, adjoining to the temples and other ornamental 
works of architedure in their gardens, as we fee by the land- 
fcapes of thofe villas. 

Like that of the Cedar, many are the encomiums bellowed, 
both by antient and modern writers, on the virtues of this tree, 
and the excellency of its wood, a few of which only fhall here 
be mentioned. It is recommended for the improvement of the 
air, and a fpecific for the lungs, as fending forth great quanti- 
ties of aromatic and balfamic emilTions ; for which reafon, the 
antient phyficians of the Eaftern countries ufed to fend their pa- 
tients troubled with weak lungs to the ifland of Candia, at that 
time abounding with thefe trees, where, from the effects of the 
air alone, few failed of a perfecfl cure. The vaft armadas v\?hich 
Alexander the Great fet out from Babylon, coniifted only of Cy- 
prefs, as did the doors of St Peter's church at Rome, which lailed 
from Conilantine the Great to Pope Eugenius the IVth's time, 
eleven hundred years, and being then changed for gates of brafs, 
were found entirely frefh. It was in coffins of Cyprefs the A- 
thenians ufed to bury their heroes, and the Mummy chefts 
brought from Egypt are moflly of this material. That lafling 
bridge, built by Semiramis over the Euphrates was of it, and 
Plato chofe to write his laws on it, in preference to brafs itfelf, 
for its diuturnity. In fhort, it is by all writers allowed to be a 
mofl valuable timber, is proof againft all putrefaction, and the 
very chips or cones of it, being burnt, extinguifli moths, and ex- 
pel gnats and flies, . 

X 2 



!64 TREATISE 



Chapter XXIX. 
The arbor VITJE, or, TREE of LIFK 

The Species are: 

1, The common Arbor Vitje. - 

2. The Chinefe Arbor Vit^. 

5. The Arbor VixiE, with ftrip'd leaveso, 

'^J^HE iirfl of thefe may be propagated either by feeds, layers, or 
cuttings ; but as the feeds lye a year in the ground before 
they appear, which makes that culture tedious, and as the layers 
and cuttings make very good plants, that method in general is 
rather to be chofen. 

If you increafe them by layers, let that operation be perform- 
ed in the month of March, watering them, more or lefs as the 
weather requires, during the fpring and fummer months, which, 
will much affift their rooting abundantly, and by the following 
fpring they will be fit to take off.. 

If they are to be raifed from cuttings, the culture direcfled for 
the red and white Virginian Cedars will beA agree with them, 
and therefore need not to be repeated. 

Th e plants having got fufiicient roots, tranfplant them to a 
. border fcreen'd from the mid-day fun, in lines two and a half 



FOREST-TREES. 



165 



feet afunder and one foot in the line ; water them at planting, 
and continue to do fo once in five or fix days during the fpring 
and fummer months, the weather being dry ; keep the ground 
clean and loofe about them, and point it over in autumn and 
fpring ; in which fituation let them remain two years. 

• From thence remove them to any ordinary quarter of the 
nurfery ; cut away a little of the extremities of their roots, with 
fuch as are ill-placed and crofs each other ; plant them in lines 
three and a half feet afunder and two feet diftant in the line, 
ordering them as in their former quarters, and let them continue 
here three years, when they will be. of proper fize to tranfplant 
where they are to remain : But if large plants are wanted at a 
future period, to make an immediate appearance in fingle trees, 
in groves, or in the wildernefs, they may again be remov^ed to 
another nurfery, and planted about five feet afunder every way, 
to (land two, three, or four years longer, this tree being as pa- 
tient of removal when large as any Evergreen, which I fpeak 
from experience, having tranfplanted them at ten and twelve 
feet high with ail the fuccefs that could be deiired, . 

The Chinefe Arbor Vit£^ though afterwards a hardy plant, is, 
when young, a little more delicate and flower of growth than the 
other, neither does it root well by layers in lefs than two rears, 
or take freely by cuttings in the open ground ; and therefore it 
may be advifeable to fow^ feme of their feeds, in doing of which, 
the culture directed for the American Cyprefs, is in all refpeds- 
the bed I can prefcribe for them. 

It may likeways be proper to railc part of them by layers^ 
which, having flood two years, will be rooted. In the begin- 



i66 



T R E A T I S E 



ning of April, let them be planted in penny pots, and then, to 
forward their growth, plunge them into a moderate hot-bed of 
tanners bark till the beginning of Auguft ; after which, inure 
them by degrees to the open air, and place them under fome pro- 
tedion during the fucceeding winter. The following fpring, take 
as much earth out of the pots as can be done without injuring 
the roots, replacing it with frefh rich mouJd ; and in thefe pots 
let them remain a fecond year, watering them in dry weather e- 
\^ery third or fourth day, when they may be taken out with bulks 
of earth clofely adhering to them, and afterwards treated, in re- 
fpedof foil, as the common kind; but, to preferve their beautiful 
verdiire unfullied in a fevere winter, I would advife them to be 
planted (though not near, yet) under the prote(5lion of other 
trees. 

This tree may alfo be propagated by cuttings, putting ten or 
twelve of them in a penny-pot, plunging them into the bark- 
bed as for the layers, and afterwards giving them the fame ma- 
nagement. 

The fort with flrip'd leaves may be increafed by layers or 
cuttings as the common kind, but muft be planted on thin dry 
land, to preferve their variegation flrong. 

For the pruning thefe trees, I can prefcribe no better method 
than has already been mentioned for the Cyprefs, to which they 
have a near refemblance, and with which they will perfedlly 
agree. 

The common kind will grow in very indifferent ground, but 
moft affe^^s a deep found earth, where they will foon make great 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 267 



progrefs ; and though in winter their leaves are of a dull tan- 
ny colom*, yet, in the fpring and fummer months, they arc a very 
chearfnl green, and the plants have a moil agreeable negligent 
appearance. 

Th e great value of the wood for bowls, boxes, cups, mortars, 
peftles, and various works of the turner and cabinet-maker, are 
generally known, and being a tree that bears our fevereft win- 
ters, and foon arrives to a middling ftature, it juftly claims a 
place, and the more frequent ufe of it would become an improve- 
ment in our extenfive plantations. 

The Chinefe fort, from the obfervations I have made, will 
not, I believe, grow to fo great a magnitude in this climate as the 
former ; but being amongfl the moft beautiful of all the Ever- 
greens, it well deferves encouragement in the garden and wil- 
dernefs. 



1 68 T 11 E A T 1 S E 



Chapter XXX. 
The ilex, or EVERGREEN OAK TREE. 

l^he Species are: 

1. The Olive-leav'd Evergreen Oak. 

2. The narrow-leav'd Evergreen Oak, with ferrated leaves. 

3. The HoUy-leav'd Evergreen Oak. 

4. The round fmooth-leav'd Evergreen Oak. 

THERE are feveral other varieties of this plant; but thefe 
being only feminal, are not worthy of being enumerated. 

I KNOW no tree more difficult to tranfplant than the Ilex, as 
the roots of it, when not interrupted, run as flraight down into 
the earth as a carrot, and with as few fibres ; fo that for hedges, 
or large plantations, I would advife their acorns to be put in the 
places where they are defigned to remain. 

If for hedges, let a border be well trenched, levelled, and 
raked the beginning of March, and make a lhallow drill with a 
fmall hoe, placing the acorns in it at the diftance of three or 
four inches, and covering them about two inches deep, keeping 
the furface mellow and clear of weeds. Thefe plants make very 
little progrefs the firft feafon, and will not then bear being cut 
under ground, but will make large amends ever after, by luxu- 



O R E S T - T K E E S. 169 



Tiaiit growths in any tolerable foil they affe6l. After {landing 
'two years, carefully draw out, fo as not to injure what remains, 
the plants that are too thick, leaving them from a foot to fifteen - 
or fixteen inches diflant. In the following fpring, the hedges 
will require fomc corre6lion : At this time go over them, firfl 
pruning off any fpreading or crofs-hanging branches near their 
tops, and afterwards let their fides be clip'd to the bottom with 
{hears ; but this muft be cautioufly done at firfl, and not too 
clofe to their bodies ; after which, by digging the borders for a few 
years, and {liearing the plants annually, obferving always to 
keep them light and thin in the tops, there is no plant I know 
will fo foon make warm and lofty hedges, to the height of forty 
or fifty feet, or fo much improve a cold climate, and promote 
the growth of other trees. 

If you intend large plantations of thefe trees, either by theni- 
■felves, or mix'd with others, cultivate the ground well by labour^ 
and put four or five acorns in patches together, at fuch diftan- 
ces as you intend the plants fliould {land. The fecond April af- 
ter, draw all but the moft thriving one and the third, you ma.f 
begin pruning off any ill-placed branches, and part of the others 
where too thick. 

Th e plants of two years old you have drawn, having fliorten- 
cd their roots, and plunged them in palp for fome hours, may be 
committed to a fliady border in the nurfery, and laid in lines 
two feet afunder, where, in a kindly feafon, and by giving them 
frequent gentle waterings, fome of them will fucceed, and in this 
fituation they may remain three years. 

Y 



1 TO 



TREATISE ON 



I HAVE been not a little diverted, to hear writers on this plant 
fagely advifing to raife their leedlings with bulks of earth. It 
will indeed require much care to do a thing nature has in a 
great meafure denied, as bulks of earth cannot poffibly adhere to 
plants deftitute of fibres, which thole, when young, without the 
ailiitance of art, almoft totally are ; to culture, therefore, we 
mufl have recourfe to raife them with bulks. 

For fmaller plantations, and to be provided in plants that 
will remove with fafety, fow thefe acorns in drills two and a 
half feet afunder and three or four inches in the drill, on good 
generous foil ; let their growth here be promoted all you can by 
feafonable watering, and keeping the ground clean, fweet, and 
mellow : The fecond fpring after, with a fpade, clear away the 
earth from one fide of the line of plants, about five inches deep, 
and, with a Jliarp knife, at that depth cut the roots acrofs, at the 
fame time clap your left hand on the plants, to prevent their 
being in the leafl difturbed, and immediately replace the earth that 
was thrown up, prefTmg it gently down with your hands. This 
pra(5lice ought to be repeated for three or four years, making 
them annually thinner as they increafe in fize ; and, from its 
being well performed, I have had great fuccefs in removing 
numbers of thofe trees. 

You may likeways raife the Ilex, by fowing their acorns in 
pots, where, after remaining three or four years, they may be 
lliaken out with the whole bulk of earth about them, and plant- 
ed with abfolute fafety where they are to remain : But this is an 
expenfive and tedious method, as fuch will make little progrefs 
compared with thofe in the open ground j befides, the roots of 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 171 

thefe plants, raifed from feeds in pots, and that mud remain fo 
long in them, being all compreffed in one clufter, from which 
they cannot afterwards be dilintangled, will never produce fucli 
luxuriant trees as thefe that from time to time have had their 
roots properly pruned, and room to extend themfclves in the 
open ground. Notwithftanding, from what I have faid of 
this pra6lice with the Ilex, I would not by any means be 
underftood to reflect on potting many young and tender plants, 
whofe roots are not fo obftinate, but may be increafed, and, by 
proper pruning, difpofed in pots as well as otherways ; fo that 
in many cafes, for particular trees, it is of much importance in 
their culture. . 

These trees, being eilabliflied in the ground, are (unlike many 
of the Evergreen tribes) very patient of cutting, fo that, from 
three or four years old, they ought to be regularly pruned, and 
brought to a handfome form, v>^hich they will eafily receive. I 
had lately in my property five of the largeft Evergreen Oaks in 
Scotland, which Handing near a fouth wall, when about twenty 
years old, began to darken it, and tho' I would fooner have for- 
feited the advantage of twenty times as much walling, than hurt 
thefe trees, I made the experiment of pruning one of them that 
I had on purpofe let remain almofl in the ftate of nature. This 
experiment I tried with great fe verity, by cutting away all the 
large branches from the trunk, and feveral of the principal arms 
where the tree divided ; from whence I could difcover no mate- 
rial check in its future growth, but the vv'ounds healed fuddenly. 

After the plants drawn from the lines that were cut below 
ground have Hood three or four years in the nurfcry, and the 

Y 2 



TREATISE ON 



imtranfplanted remainder as long, remove them to their proper 
ftations for good, as, confidering their being fo very hard in the. 
root, and miwilling to. pufh out frefli ones, any further procefs 
in the nurfery way will be unnecelTary. Let them be plentifully 
watered at removal, and that regularly attended to once a week 
in dry weather, during the warm fummer months. 

Though the attentive culture of this tree in fuch a climate 
as ours, when difpofed in proper fituations, mufl; be, produdlivc 
of many advantages, yet I would not advife their being planted 
near the houfe or gardens, as in April and May they call their 
old leaves, which occafions a prodigious litter, and are in that 
chearful feafon ragged and gloomy. 

The land they chiefly affe6^, from the relation of reputable 
writers, is a hazelly loam. This is a fpecies of earth few plants 
will difagree with, but is very far from being univerfal ; and 
luckily the Ilex, will fucceed in a variety of lefs defireable foils : 
Therefore I muft aflirm, from experience, tliat fuch as are meant 
for tranfplantation, though they ought to be cultivated in a ge- 
nerous mould, which will fooneftjprocure them fufficient roots to 
bear removal, yet thefe roots being procured, (which will not 
fail if the direcPcions here given are attended to), they will after- 
wards grow freely in very ordinary land, in that particularly 
which is deep, though very coarfe and ftubborn (but not wet) 
moft vigoroLiily. They are indeed a little delicate at firft, but 
foon become amongfi: the hardieft trees ; and thefe I have men- 
tioned lately in my pofTefTion, ftand on a lean hungry gravel, 
that had been long and conllantly employed in raifmg nurfery 
crops, a circtiixirtaiicc unflivourable to their vigorous growth. 



|?OREST - TREES. 



If the land you intend for large plantations, or to inclofe with 
hedges of them, is poor or ftiff, I would advife, after digging 
or trenching it well according to its quality, to lay fome rich 
mould on the poor, and fome loofe on the ftifF furface of the 
borders for hedges, or other fpots allotted for the timber-trees, 
the beginning of v/inter, and point it flightly in before fowing 
in April. 

The wood of the Evergreen Oak makes excellent Hocks for 
tools, mallet-heads, axle-trees, wedges, palifadoes, — and fupplies 
the greateft part of Spain, and the fouth of France, with the heVi, 
and mod lafling charcoal yet known.. 



174 



TREATISE 



O N 



Chapter XXXI. 
The cork TREE, 

The Species are : 

1. The broad-leaved Evergreen Cork Tree. 

2. The narrow-leav'd Cork Tree, with fmooth edges, 

'Tn H E beft Englifli v\rriter on this fubjed, has directed thele 
-a- plants to be propagated in all refpedls like the Evergreen 
Oak. About London indeed, which, from a variety of concur- 
ring circumftances,, is a very different climate from any other 
part of Great-Britain, that pradlice may anfwer; but in the re- 
mote counties of England, and in Scotland, to my certain expe- 
rience, it will not fucceed, fo as foon, if ever, to make thriving 
plants ; for they make very little progrefs the firft fummer, and 
the following winter generally fpews them out of the ground, or 
otherways deftroys them : But in the manner I fliall here dire(5l, 
I have raifed many vigoroiis plants of them. 

Try the quality of your acorns as has been directed for the 
common Oak, that, from planting no unfound feed, there may be 
no blanks in the crop. In the beginning of March, prepare a 
fhallow box, or boxes, according to the number of plants you in- 
tend to raife ; let the bottom of the boxes be bored with holes 
half an inch diameter, at four or five inches afunder, and cover- 
ed with oyfter-iliells or broken tyles ; put five inches deep of 



F O R E S T - T II E E S. 175 

fine rich light mould in them, on which place your acorns a- 
bout four inches afunder, and cover them with two inches more 
of the fame kind of mould ; place thefe boxes on a moderate 
hot-bed, of which tanners bark is the beft ; and in ten or twelve 
days after, when you find the earth beginning to dry, give them 
a very gentle fprinkling of water, which repeat every fourth or 
fifth day. In a month after fowing, the plants will begin to ap- 
pear, when the quantity of water mufl be increafed, how much, 
or how frequently, the condition of the earth will beft direcft you. 
In this hot-bed the boxes may remain till the beginning of July, 
from whence they may be taken, and placed in a fliady Iheltered 
fituation during the remaining fummer months ; but obferve, 
before removing them from the hot-bed, that they be gradually 
inured to bear the open air, by taking off the glalTes in mild or 
moift weather, when the fun is not fcorching, and late in the 
evenings, or all night, when the feafon is quite temperate and 
ferene. On the approach of winter, let the furface of the boxes 
be cleared of all mufty particles with your fingers, and replaced 
with a greater proportion of the fineft rich mould ; after which 
place them under frames till the fucceeding fpring, and only co- 
ver them with the glaffes in violent rains or hard frofts. 

From the middle of April to the beginning of May, as the 
weather fooner or later becomes favourable, let thefe boxes be 
removed to a well-flieltered, but fliady place in the nurfery, and 
placed on ftones or logs of wood fome inches above the furface 
of the ground, which not being obferved, is apt to occafion fuch 
a ftagnation and corruption in the mouldy as frequently to deftroy 
the whole plants, or at beft to ftunt them beyond recovery. Du- 
ring the fummer months, let them be regularly refreflied v/itli^ 



576 T R E A T I S E on 

water as tlic feafoii requires ; and in the "autumn, (thougli it 
may often not be necefTary), I Hiould cKufe to make fure work, 
by remo^'ing iliem under the prote^lion of a frame, which may 
be covered in the event of a very rigid winter. 

In tlie beginning of April following, the plants being now two 
years old, mud be taken out of the boxes, when, from the in- 
terruption the flraight roots have met with in not running 
downwards, by carefully undermining them with a trowel, they 
may generally be raifed with earth adhering to them. This 
being done without wounding the fmalleft fibre, put them in 
penny pots filled with rich loofe mould ; plunge the pots into a 
moderate hot-bed only for fix weeks or two months, till they 
have puilied out frefli fibres, and are in a briflc growing ftate-. 
When this is the cafe, harden rhem gradually, and remove the 
pots to a north border during the remaining part of the fummer. 
From this time thefe plants will require no more than common 
culture, and, having flood two years in the pots, may be fliaken 
out of them with their whole bulks, and either planted where 
defigned to remain for good, or in the nurfery two or three 
years more, for future defigns, from whence they will remove 
with eafe and lafety. 

Though this procefs, to a lazy gardener, may feem trou- 
blefome, yet it is not very expenfive ; and I am certain I 
have not dire6led the leaft fuperfluous labour for thefe plants in 
this country. 

The Cork Tree, in the places of its native growth, is defcri- 
bed by many travellers to grow in bleak mountainous fituations. 



F OREST-TREES. 



and poor, rocky, fteril foils, with their roots running alrove the 
furface ; but thefe foils and fituations muft have fome happy- 
animating qualities belonging to them, unfelt in our northern 
regions, where we muft make them much more familiar to us 
than they yet are, before we pretend to accommodate them with 
fuch lodgings ; and therefore, to have them grow freely, and to 
any confiderable magnitude, we muft give them a good folid ge- 
nerous foil, and a fituation defended, either by nature or art, 
from the cold eafterly and northerly winds. 

Th e ufes of cork, which is the bark of the tree, need no ex-> 
planation. That of its body is hard, lafting, and beautiful^, 
and, like the Ilex, makes excellent charcoal. 



178 TREATISE 



Chapter XXXII. 
The holly TRE 

The Specie s are : 

1. The common Holly, with red berries. 

2. The fmooth fliining-leav'd Holly, with red berries, 

3. The yellow-berried green Holly., 

4. The white-berried green Holly, 

5. The green Hedge-hog Holly. 

6. The yellow-blotch'd Hedge-hog Holly,. 

7. The gold-edg'd Hedge-hog Ho L ly. 

8. The filver-edg'd Hedge-hog Ho L LYo 

9. The yellow-blotch'd Ho L LY. - 

10. The white-blotch'd Holly,, 

11. Broderick's HoL L Yo 

12. Eales's Holly. 

13. Sir Thomas Franklin's Holly,, 

14. Hertfordfhire white Holly.. 
3 5 . Bridgman' s Holly. 

16. Longftaff's beft Holly. 

17. Bradley's belt Holly. 

18. Wife's beft Holly. 

19. The Britifli Holly, 

20. Bagfhot Holly. 

21. Glory of the Eafl Holly. 

22. Glory of the. Weft Holly,. 



!F O RES T - TREES. 

23. Aflet's Holly. 

24. The Union Holly. 

25. Fine Phyllis Holly. 

26. Painted Lady Holly. 

27. Fuller's cream Holly. 

28. Milk-maid Holly. 

29. Capel's motled Holly. 

30. Patridge's Holly. 

3 I . Mafon's copper-colour'd Ho l L y , 

32. Box-leav'd Holly. 

33. Whitmell's Holly. 



HOLLY Berries are ufually gathered at the fame time with 
Haws, early in autumn, foon after turniiig red, but they 
are by no means ripe at this time, and fhould hang on the trees 
till December at fooneft ; or, were it not for the birds, who 
greedily devour them, I would not advife pulling them till Fe- 
bruary or March, during which time they will improve in ma- 
turity. 

The common method of raifing thefe plants, is by fowing 
their berries whole, either as foon as they come from the trees, 
or the following fpring ; but this is a very ill practice. 

These berries contain four feeds in each, from whence, by 
fowing them whole, if the feeds were good, there muft necelTa- 
rily be four plants interwoven in a clufter together ; and it is 
great odds, if, in dividing them when raifed, two or three of 
the four are not torn afimder, and the remainder much injured, 

Z 2 



iSo TREATISE 



Therefore, to prevent the ill confequences arifing from 
that pradlice, as foon as your berries are gathered, throw them 
into a tub with water, and rub them between your hands till 
you have diverted the feeds of their thick glutinous covering, 
which is foon executed with little trouble. This being done, 
the good feeds will fink to the bottom, when you muft pour off 
the water, with all the pulpy fubftance that floats, and fpread 
the feeds on a cloth in a dry any place, rubbing them between 
your hands often, and giving them a frefh cloth daily till the 
feeds are feparated and quite dry. If this is done in autumn 
or winter, mix the feeds with fand, and keep them from wet till 
fpring ; but if they have not been gathered till fpring, let them 
be immediately fown. 

Any time the weather is moft feafonable in March or April, 
will be a good time for fowing them, which muft be done as re- 
gularly as pofiible, and much thinner than is ufually pradlifed, 
on a fpot of well-prepared rich loofe mould, in beds three and a 
half feet broad, with alleys of eighteen inches between them, 
covered three quarters of an inch thick ; and as thefe feeds will 
not vegetate till the fucceeding fpring, let the ground be kept 
clean, fweet and mellow, till autumn, when the furface of the 
beds mvift be loofened with a fhort-teeth'd rake, and a little fine 
frefii mould thrown over them, which may again be raked off in 
the fpring, before the feeds are in any fenfible motion. 

Th e following year, in the beginning of April, draw out a 
confiderable number of your Hollies, then one year old, and leave 
the remainder fo thin as they may receive all the influences of 
air, fun, and rain j let thefe drawn be planted in a fliady border, 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. i8i 

in lines eighteen inches afunder and five or fix inches in the line, 
giving them frequent moderate waterings, and pointing over th»e 
ground in autumn and fpring. The reafon of allowing fo large 
a fpace to thefe plants, which are, and will be for two years very 
fmall, is to give room to dig the ground between the lines, as 
the beft means both to promote the growth of the plants, and to 
encourage the fide-roots to fpread, fo as to rife with bulks. In 
this fituation they may remain three years. 

The plants remaining in the feed-bed, being two years old, 
ought to be removed ; and having cautioufly fhortened their 
downright, and fmoothed the extremities of the fpreading roots, 
plant, and otherways cultivate them in the fame manner as the 
former, only in this nurfery they ought to continue but two 
years. 

In tolerable foil, and a protected fiuiation, thefe Hollies may 
be planted for hedges where defigned to remain, cutting them 
over by the ground, and watering them ; but in poor unflielter- 
ed land, they will fucceed much better, by giving them more 
ftrength from age and further culture. 

TjiEREFORE,- to do this effectually, remove thefe plants to 
another quarter of well-prepared frefli earth, and plant them in 
lines three feet afunder and eighteen inches in the line. At this 
time let them have a plentiful watering, keeping the ground as 
formerly, and here let them continue untouched for two years. 
The third fpring, throw out a trench of earth from one fide of the 
plants, and with a fpade made very fliarp, cut clean over all the 
downright roots at ten inches or a foot below tlie fvirface, and 



1 82. T R E A T I S 1i o 1^- 

likcways fliorten all ftraggling ones that extend far from the 
licles ; then replace the earth, and dig it well about them. Hav- 
ing Hood here another feafon, cut them over by the ground, 
and the following, which will be the fourth year, they may be 
removed where you intend, without tlie lofs of one in a thou- 
fand. 

The beginning of April, having prepared the borders where 
you defign planting your hedges, let the HoUies be carefully 
raifed with bulks of earth about their roots, which will natural- 
ly adhere to them if the culture direded has been obferved. 
There will be no occaiion for much pruning of the roots at this 
time, only with a fharp knife cut off and fmooth any that have 
been broken or bruifed with the fpade in railing them ; keep 
them as fliort time as may be out of the ground, and plant them 
at eighteen inches diftance, the fame depth they formerly flood:; 
give them a plentiful watering, which ought to be repeated once 
in ten or twelve days, for three or four times, if the weather is 
dry. The plants having been cut over the year before, will have 
made fhoots from a foot to eighteen inches high ; thefe you may 
reduce to an equal height, about fix or eight inches above the 
former year's cutting; and thus you have a hedge formed, that 
requires no further trouble than keeping the roots of the plants 
clean for a few years, and annually clipping them, which, in an 
ordinary foil, will, in ten years, defeat the attempts of the flrong- 
cll bull to injure it. 

I HAVE likeways planted the Holly and Thorn mix'd in hed- 
ges with mofl defireable fuccefs, every third or fourth plant be- 
ing a Holly. The Thorns, for four or five years, will advance 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 1^3 



fafleft, after which the Hollies will annually gain ground, and at 
laft totally extirpate the others, whence, by planting both, you 
will foonefl have an appearance, and afterwards, by an agreeable 
metamorphofis, have an entire Holly hedge. 

Having mentioned the Holly only for hedges, ,o£- w^lii.cjh itr 
makes the ftrongeft, warmefl, mofh' lafhing, and beautiful, for 
outward fences, of any plant this climate produces ; yet I am far 
from meaning to confine it to that formal purpofe alone, as I 
know none will more adorn, or be otherw^ays more ufeful, not 
only in the garden and wildernefs, but the more extended woods 
and forefts. For thefe purpofes, at the laft removal directed for 
the hedge plants, let fuch a proportion as your deiigns require 
be feledled from them, of the talleft and cleaneft fhoots, of 
which cut away all but the leading one, and plant them in ano- 
ther nurfery of frefh earth, in lines five feet afunder and two ■ 
and a half in the line ; cultivate the ground about them by- 
digging and dreffing it, and annually prune the trees to their 
proper form ; in which fituation they may continue feven or 
eight years, raifing part of them, from time to time as your plaii-- 
• tations require.. 

The general negled of cultivating this beautiful plant, both 
in the hedges and woods, is mofh amazing, when its many ufes 
and good qualities are confidered ; and I can account for this 
difregard in no way but one, which is, not attending to its pro- 
per culture, from whence many of them ufualiy fail at planting- 
out, and what remains makes little progrefs for a long time. 
Their common treatment is removing them from the feed-bed 
(where they are almofl univcrfally too thick) at two, thrce^ and: 



i84 TREATISE on 

fometimes four years old, and dibbling them, (ftill immoderately 
thick), where they often continue four, five, or fix years, if not 
demanded while they are worth the having. By this means their 
roots are bad, their bodies tall and flender, and their tops heavy, 
fo that the gentlell breeze of wind will fliake them to their foun- 
dation, from which every fibre they puih out is immediately de- 
llroyed, and the plants muft of courfe perifh : But by following 
the pracElice here directed, the winds make no imprefTion on them, 
nor is there m nature a hardier ti^ee, one that roots better, is 
more patient of cutting both in the root and body, or that may 
be planted with more undoubted fuccefs, from one to twelve or 
fifteen feet high. 

The Holly tree, in a foil it affedls, will grow upwards of fifty 
feet high, and even to a confiderable fize, on as great a variety 
of foils as any plant I know. It refufes not the poorefl, hot, 
fandy, gravelly, and rocky ground, nor the coldeft fpoutty clay 
and till ; and its beautiful fhining. leaves, almoft covered with rich 
fcarlet fruit, which the fevereft winter does not difcolour, makes 
it in a particular manner, at that feafon, a moft grateful and de- 
firable fight,. 

Tho' I have juflly reported this as one of the hardiefl plants, 
when it has been properly cultivated, and once got good footing, 
yet where hedges of it are planted on extremely poor and hun- 
gry land, particularly what is ftiif, if a fmall mixture of rich 
fandy or gravelly foil (but by no means dung) were mixed in the 
borders, it would much promote their rooting at firil, which 
being once put in a free-growing, ftate, they will afterwards rer- 
quire no further afiiflance from art. 



FOREST-TREES. 185 

I MUST not here omit taking notice of a very wrong, though 
prevaiUng cuftom, which is, clipping thefe hedges the beginning 
of winter. This has various ill effe(fts, as it not only robs them 
of their beauty and verdure in that gloomy feafon, by cutting 
away the frelh tender flioots, and mangling the leaves, but like- 
ways expofes the naked hearts of the plants to all the rigour of 
the florms, unprotedled as they are of their natural cloathing. 
Let this, therefore, never be performed later in the feafon than 
July, after which the young flioots will again flicker the inward 
parts before the fevere weather comes on. 

Any defcription I am capable of giving in praife of Holly 
hedges, will fall infinitely fliort of the imprefllons every man 
of tafl:e muft: conceive, who fliall fee old fences of them that 
have been properly trained. Sorry I am, I cannot gratify the 
public in many examples of this kind ; but happily there is one 
in Scotland that will jufliify the highefl; encomiums of the 
ablefl: writer on that fubjecfl, which is to be feen at Tyn- 
ningham, in the county of Eafl:-Lotliian, the feat of the Right 
Honourable the Earl of Hadinton, and to a view of them I ap- 
peal, as the clearefl; evidence of the incomparable beauty, laft- 
ing flirength, and magnificence of Holly hedges : But how much 
nobler an appearance this plant will make (landing unconftrain- 
ed by fhears, detached and at freedom in the woods, loaded as 
they annually are with berries, (which clipping prevents), is 
eafy to imagine. Thefe hedges were planted by the late Earl of 
Hadinton, the greateft, mofl: knowing, and moil fuccefsful plan- 
ter of his time, and who, to all appearance, from a very poor 
and unpromifing foil, expofed to, and clofe upon the great Ger- 
man ocean, has raifed very extenfive and floiuifliing plantations 
of the moft valuable Forefl-trees. What I have faid on the 

A a 



1 86 TREATISE on 

hedges at Tynninghain will not, I hope, be deemed a digreffion 
from my fubje(fl;; tho' probably it may, that I would here hmn- 
bly recommend to the prefent Earl, the proprietor, that, as an ex- 
ample to this and future ages, he would pleafe allow, at leaft fome 
part of thefe hedges (which at prefent I think are not lofty in 
proportion to their thicknefs and ftrength) to run up to twenty- 
five or thirty feet in height ; cut thinner and thinner as they ap- 
proach the top, which in a few years would make them the moft 
glorious fight of the kind that can be conceived, and this may 
be done without in the fmalleft degree impairing their ftrength. 

The great variety of variegated Hollies for the wildernefs or 
Evergreen garden, are likeways all highly worthy our attention, 
not clip'd or reduced to any exa(5l form, but, after having been 
properly pruned, to increafe their ftature, growing in their na- 
tural luxuriancy of branches and fruit. The variegation , of trees 
in general, no doubt proceeds from fome weaknefs or difeafe ; 
they are commonly dwarfifh, and .when planted in ftrong land, 
lofe much of their beauty, and often turn plain : But in the 
Holly it is quite otherways ; they grow to a large fize, and the 
moft generous foil does not in the leaft diminifh the mixture of 
their colours, but makes them more brilliant ; fo that the various 
kinds of them, difpofed with good tafte, afford, at all feafons of 
the year, a gay and refrefhing entertainment. 

Th ere have been many direcftions given, with much folemnlty 
and affurance of fuccefs, for variegating Hollies from their feeds, 
all which that I ever read or heard of, with many experiments 
CI my own, I have tried ineffectually ; from whence I can fafely 
conclude, they are all quackiili impolitions, and that, to make 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 187 



good plants, they can only be increafed by budding or grafting 
them on the plain green kind, in both which ways they will 
readily fucceed ; but their variegation by other means, is a fport 
in nature no art has as yet been able to imitate. 

I HAVE raifed the different kinds of Hollies from layers, and 
even from cuttings : But I recommend neither ; they are not only 
extremely tedious methods, but I never was able to make good 
plants from them. 

The timber of the Holly is exceeding hard, and of all 
flrong wood the whitefl : It is ufeful for many lafting pur- 
pofes ; the mill-wright, turner, and engraver, prefer it to any o- 
ther ; it makes the beft handles and flocks for tools, flails, 
bowls, bolts for doors, nay they even make hinges of it inftead 
of iron, and it is fo heavy, that, like iron, it finks in water,. 



A a z: 



i88 TREATISE on 



Chapter XXXIII.. 
The yew TRE E, 

The Species are ; 

1. The common Yew Tree. 

2. The Yew Tree, with a broader and more fhining leaf.. 

3. The Yew Tree, with flrip'd leaves.. 

THE firft and fecond forts are indifcrimniately propagated 
together : They may be raifed by fowing their berries in 
beds three and a half feet broads, with alleys eighteen inches be- 
tween them, on any fpot of well-prepared frefh ground. If this 
is done the beginning of winter, as foon as the berries are 
ripe, having firft diverted them of the pulp in which they are 
inclofed, fome of them will appear the following fpring ; but 
as thefe will be much the fmaller part, to have a plentiful and 
regular crop all appear at the fame time, I rather advife the 
feeds to be mixed with earth till fpring, and managed in the 
feed-bed for two years, and three more in the nurfery, as has 
been diredled for the Holly, 

The Yew may likeways be propagated by cuttings of one or 
two years growth, planted in a fliady border the beginning of April 
or end of Auguft ; let them be laid in lines eighteen inches afim- 
der, covered five inches deep, and watered at planting j rub off the 
leaves as far as the cuttings are buried, and, in two years, they 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 189 



will be well rooted, and fit for removal. The branches being 
torn afunder at the joints, are better than plain cuttings. 

>> 

Th e plants from feeds being five, and the cuttings two years 
old, (though flill fmall), remove them to another nurfery, ihort- 
ening their downright roots, and lay them in lines two feet afun- 
der and nine or ten inches in the line, to remain three years. 

From thence remove them again, and plant them in lines four 
feet afunder and two feet in the line, giving them a plentiful 
watering, which fhould be repeated, if the weather is dry, once 
a week, three or four times ; and here they may continue, if the 
land is rich, four, but if poor, five or fix years, during which 
time they may be pruned, fo as to elevate them for trees, or 
clip'd into the form of hedges, fuitable to your intentions. Let 
digging between thefe plants, at leafh in the fpring, never be 
omitted, as nothing will fo much contribute, not only to increafe 
their growth, but multiply their roots. 

If defired larger, you may once more remove them to another 
quarter, and plant them, at eight feet diftance by fix, continuing 
the fame culture as before; from whence you may remove thems 
any time required, within feven or eight years. 

No plant is more patient of being tranfplanted old tlian the 
Yew ; it naturally produces great quantities of fmall roots, to 
which the earth adheres fo clofely, that, with plentiful waterings, 
you may at once form compleat hedges of feven or eight feet 
high, that will not in the fmallefl manner be retarded in their 
growth by removal, but have the fame freilmcfs and verdure the 
firft feafon they ever h^d. 



190 TREATISE ON 

There is not in nature a hardy plant fo tonfile and obedient 
to the fliears as this, or that makes fo clofe and warm a defence 
againft the cold piercing winds, (the PI0II7 only excepted, which 
making a great deal of litter in the fpring, is not fo proper for the in- 
ward divifions of the garden), and therefore none comparable for 
making fmall inclofures in the kitchen ground or nurfery, to 
protect and forward vegetable crops, or young and delica.te 
trees and flirubs. Of what mighty advantage fuch fences- 
would be to men of fortune beginning their improvements, may 
cafily be imagined : What pity then is it, and how blameable 
are nurferymen whofe circumftances will admit, that they do' 
not afford thefe aids, either for the public good, or their owru 
private intereft ! 

With all thefe advantages, I miifl: acknowledge the Yew a 
very unchearful plant ; and the old practice of planting great 
numbers of them, cut in no lefs various than ridiculous figures, 
in the courts and fronts of houfes, made them doubly mournful, 
which no doubt has increafed the difregard for fome time fliown 
them : But for the purpofes mention(jd, they cannot be too much 
encouraged ; neither do I think they ought to be entirely banilli- 
ed tlie wildernefs or foreft, where a few of them in their natural 
form, interfperfed with others, will appear vnth. a reverend tho' 
gloomy magnificence, and are the fineft foil imaginable to the 
reft of the plantation, which, contrafted with them, will appear 
with additional chearfulnefs and luftre. 

I HAVE formerly mentioned the ill confequences of clipping 
Holly hedges in autumn. This ought to be yet more particular- 
ly attended to in the Yew, which will fuffer more by that prac- 
tice, in fo much that I have known, in fevere winters, whole 
hedges of them become quite brown, and fo weakened, that no- 



FGREST-TREES. 191 

thing but cutting them clofe to the trunk will again reflore their 
thicknefs and verdure. 

Th I s tree, when fliooting in fpring, or loaded with ber- 
ries in autumn, is noxious to cattle, which therefore, at thefc 
feafons, are to be kept from approaching them ; but our fpecies 
is not the true Taxus, or Yew of the Ancients, to which they 
afcribed fo many deadly qualities. Mr Evelyn, in his Silva, 
mentions a tree of it growing in his time in the Medical Garden 
at Pifa in Tufcany, of fo baneful a nature, that the gardeners 
could not clip it for above half an hour at a time, from their 
heads aching exceflively. The leaves of this tree are defcribed to 
be more like the Fir than our Yew, and this account of it is 
given by Do(5lor Belluceus, Prefident of thefe gardens. I acknow- 
ledge the emiffions of our Yew, when clip'd, to be no regale, 
but luckily it has not the malignant effecSls of the Tufcan. 

This tree grows to a large fize, is hardy in refpe^l of cold, 
and will fucceed in the moft barren and mountainous fitu- 
ations, where the greateft florms will make no impreffion on it. 
Since the ufe of bows has been laid afide, the wood is in lefs efti- 
mation than formerly ; but it ftill gives a high price for the ca- 
binet-maker. Pofts of it put in moift ground, will continue 
found for ages, and for axle-trees no wood is fo ftrong and laft- 
ing ; to which I fhall only add one very material quality more, 
though not related by any writer fo far as I know, and which 
is, that the wooden parts of a bed made of Yew, will mofl cer- 
tainly not be approached by bugs. This is a truth, confirmed 
to me by the experience of trees I had cut down and ufed my- 
- felf in that way. 



19a TREA TISE 

Chapter XXXIV. 
The laurel, or CHERRY BAY TREE. 

The Species are : 

1. The common Laurel. 

2. The white-flrip'd Laurel. 

3. The yellow-ftrip'd JLaurel. 

4. The Portugal Laurel. 

THE common Laurel is to be propagated either from feeds 
or cuttings ; but as thofe from feeds make tlie moft uni- 
form {lately trees, and fooneft produce their fruit, fo, where they 
are required of large ilature, I would advife that method which 
I fhall firft defcribe,: 

In the beginning of winter, foon after the berries are ripe, 
fow them in a fhady border of well-prepared frefli loofe mould, 
in beds three and a half feet broad, with alleys of eighteen 
inche^etween them, and cover them an inch and a half, or-two 
inches deep. In the beginning of the following March, before their 
vegetation, rake off as much of their covering as may be done 
without difturbing the berries, and replace it with frefh earth 
to the depth of about three quarters of an inch. About th-e 
middle of April, when the feeds will be in a growing ftate, the 
weather being dry, and not frofty, refrefh them with frequent 



r 



FOREST-TREES. 193 



gentle waterings ifi the morning ; and continue tlils, more or lefs, 
during the fummer months, as the feafon fhall require, changing 
the morning to evening's watering as foon as the danger of the 
frofts are over. 

The fucceedlng fprlng, the ground being good, and the for- 
mer fummer having been favourable, as foon as their buds be- 
gin to fwell, remove them from the feminary to the nurfery, and 
lay them with the fpade in lines two feet afunder and nine or 
ten inches in the line, the fame depth they formerly flood ; wa- 
ter them at planting, and if you repeat it three or four times at 
the diftance of ten or twelve days, the feafon being dry, it will 
much forward their growth : Let the ground between the rows 
be pointed over in autumn and fprlng, and cut away any crofs 
lateral branches during their abode here, which ought to be two 
years only. If thefe berries have been fown in poor land, the 
plants of courfe will have made fmall progrefs ; in that event, 
and that they are not too thick, they may remain in the feed- 
bed two years. 

To raife them from cuttings, plant them in a fliady border 
of moift (not wet) earth, in lines two feet afunder. The begin- 
ning of April, or middle of Auguft, let the cuttings be a foot or 
fourteen inches long, one half of which fhould be buried in 
the ground ; let the whole leaves be rub'd off, which other- 
ways generally wither and hang on great part of that feafon, 
and from thence taint the plant. Here they may remain till the 
fecond April following, giving them the fame culture as the 
feedlings. 

B b 



194 TREATISE on 

With refped to cuttings of tliefe, and all other trees, I muft 
here take notice of one circumftance I have never read in any 
author, or ever feen attended to in practice, but which is of the 
higheft importance in the culture of every plant raifed from 
them ; and that is, indifcriminately taking all branches of a 
proper age and fize, without confidering the manner and difpo- • 
fition of their growth : But nothing is more certain, than that 
a clean perpendicular flioot will produce a ftraight handfome 
plant, an ill-formed bruihy one continue its original likenefs, 
and thofe that fpread and hang over in a horizontal way, will 
ever after continue to grow in that diredlion. I have planted per- 
haps as great a number of cuttings, and of as many various 
kinds, as any man of my age has done ; and after having confider'd 
what I thought was the order of nature, I determined to try this 
experiment, and, for a fucceffion of years, planted the three dif- 
ferent kinds mentioned in feparate lines, when, after many years 
growth, the diftin(5lion was as perceptible in the trees, as in the 
branches hanging on their mothers ; fo that what the poet fays 

of education " Juft as the twig is bent, the trees inclin'd.'* 

may here be applied, and is at lead as vifible in trees as men. 
This leads me to obferve, that both authors and gardeners in 
general make diftindlion, and give feedling-plants of all kinds 
a great preference to cuttings. That many plants are better be- 
ing raifed from feeds than propagated in any other manner, I 
know experimentally to be true ; but that feveral kinds, which 
root freely, are little, if any thing inferior, when the cuttings are 
properly chofen, I alfo know ; and the general obfervation made 
to their difadvantage, is owing to overlooking their quality at cut- 
ting them. Is it n Jt ftrange then, that we have not been univer- 
fally warned to attend to a circumftance fo feemingly confiftent 
with reafon and nature ? But I return to the further culture of 
the plants. 



FOREST-TREES. 



"The feedlings and cuttings may now be treated in the fame 
manner, and removed to another nurfery, where, having flior- 
tened and cut away all ill-placed roots that crofs each other, and 
likewife pruned off fuperfluous branches, carefully preferving 
and encouraging the principal leading ilioot, plant them in lines 
four feet afunder and two feet diftant in the line ; take care of 
cultivating the ground as formerly, and prune them annually in 
flich a manner as will moft elevate them in the pyramidal form : 
In this nurfery they may continue three, or not exceeding four 
years. I have fpoken hitherto only with regard to fuch as are 
intended for tall ftandard trees ; but here let it be obferved, that 
fuch as are meant for covering of walls, forming hedges, or 
other fuch purpofes, may either be applied in thefe ways from 
the former nurfery, or trained here fo as at once to anfwer your 
future deligns. This tree is commonly dwarfed and disfigured 
by letting it grow rough too long, after which they are not to 
be redreffed or brought to a proper figure, being much injured 
by cutting their old wood. 

For making large plantations, thefe trees will now be of a 
competent fize ; but if a referve is wanted for diftant defigns, 
remove them to another fpot, and plant them in the quincunx 
order, at fix feet afunder every way, obferving the former cul- 
ture ; where, after Handing two years, they may be removed 
with fafety five or fix years longer. 

Th e two forts with fcrip'd leaves may alfo be increafed by cut- 
tings ; but their variegation being very faint, in a luxuriant foil 
they will foon turn quite plain, and ought therefore to be plan- 
ted in a poor, hungry, dry fand or gravel. In order to blend 
their colours better than they naturally are, make them more 

B b 2 



196 TREATISE ON 



glaring, and of longer continuance, remove them annually in 
poor land for five or fix years, budding a richly-variegated leaf 
on the green, or rather a variegated flock, which will much 
brighten, and alfo longer preferve their colours, than if raifed 
from cuttings. 

Th E Portugal Laurel will not rife to half the magnitude of 
the others, nor is it fo eafily reared in the pyramidal form, but 
is a beautiful and elegant plant, of a very chearful fhining ver- 
dure. It may be propagated either by feeds, layers, or cut- 
tings, as the former, but, when young, are fomewhat more deli- 
cate, and will be improved by a higher culture, better foil, and 
more flieltered fituation for four or five years, after which 'tis 
abundantly hardy. 

The beauty of the common Laurel is hardly known amongll: 
us, having formerly been mangled on walls and in hedges, or 
clip'd to bullies with fliears, which, from the largenefs of its 
leaves, is of moft plants the leaft proper to ufe in that man- 
ner : It will grow to the height of between forty and fifty feet, 
and fucceed in very poor barren foil., Of all the Evergreens fa- 
miliar to this climate, I have ever efteemed it amongft the moft 
graceful : It has all the beauty of the Orange tree without its 
fruit ; and I cannot conceive a richer appearance in nature, than 
a number of lofty Laurels, that have been properly trained, 
planted near a houfe, either in fingle trees, in groves, or inter- 
fperfed with other Evergreens in the wildernefs way. 

It unites perfe6"t]y well, by grafting or budding it on the com- 
mon black Cherry, and, from that, is confiderably increafed in 
magnitude, and rendered yet more hardy,. 



FOREST - TREES. 



197 



Chapter XXXV. 
The bay TREE. 

The Species are : 

1. The common Bay Tree, with male flowers. 

2. The common fruit-bearing Bay Tree. 

3. The broad-leav'd berry-bearing Bay Tree. 

4. The gold-ftrip'd Bay Tree. 



'T^HERE are feveral other fpecies of the Bay tree, but being 
tenderer plants, commonly potted and kept in the green- 
houfe during winter, they are foreign to the delign of this Treatife» 

Th e three firft mentioned forts may either be propagated 
from feeds or layers, and will make good plants in either way. 
Their berries are commonly ripe the end of January, or begin- 
ning of February, when they ought to be gathered and prefer- 
ved in dry fand till the beginning of March. The weather then 
being favourable, or as foon after as it becomes fo, prepare a 
fhady border of rich, loofe, undung'd foil, made fmooth and 
fine with the rake, and well protected by hedges from the north 
and eaft winds ; here drop the berries in lines fifteen inches a- 
funder and about four inches in the line, fifting over them an 
inch thick of the fineft and richeft mould you have. As foon as 
you perceive the plants begin to heave up the earth, refrefli them 



m8 T R E A T I S E on 

frequently, but moderately, with water, in the mornings 
when cold, but the evenings of mild weather, and continue 
to do fo all the fummer months ; clear the ground of all 
mufiy particles in autumn and fpring as diredled for other 
feedlings, and let them remain here two years, watering the 
fecond fummer (though more plentifully) v/ith the fame atten- 
tion as the firfl, it being of the utmoft confequence to promote 
the vigorous growth of this plant in its early ftages, which, be- 
ing then ftarved from want of proper foil and culture, will be- 
come hide-bound, and hardly ever after make a ftraight liand- 
fome tree. 

Sue PI as you intend to increafe by layers, may be laid down 
in March, or Auguft, the latter of which is much the beft fea- 
fon, as thefe done in March will be but indifierently rooted by 
the fucceeding fpring ; but the others will be prepared by the 
earth to root vigoroufly early next feafon, and by the fecond 
fpring make itrong healthy pla.nts. 

The Bay will alfo grow by cuttings, the young fhoots being 
torn afander at the joints, and planted in a lhady border ; but 
by this method, in the open ground, their advance vvill be very 
fmall, and require ftanding four years at leafh before removal, 
from whence they grow thick and brufhy, nor ever make fo 
handfome plants as either the feedling or layers ; but I have 
raifed thoufands of them in frames to the greatefb advantage, 
and with much facility, as follows : In the beginning of April, 
prepare a moderate hot-bed of tanners bark, and cover it eight 
inches deep with fuch foil as diretfted for the feedlings. In this 
plant the cuttings five inches deep, and eight or nine inches 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 199 



afunder, rubbing ofF all their leaves ; let them have a gcnde wa- 
tering every evening while the bed continues warm, which may 
be difcontinued gradually as that warmth decreafes, and cover 
the glafles with mats during the heat of the day ; when tlic 
bark has loft its fhrength, and the cuttings have made young 
fhoots, let them receive all mild gentle fliowers, and the evening 
dews. About the beginning of Auguft, the glalTes may be taken 
oflf the frames, and replaced again when the weather begins to 
be froily, but kept open every mild day. In the beginning 
of April following, or as foon after as the weather becomes tem- 
perate, remove both the glafles and frames ; continue frequent 
and plentiful waterings during the fummer months as the wea- 
ther may require, and the fucceeding April you will have ftrong 
well-rooted plants, fit for removal. From this pracStice, I have 
raifed clean-bodied Bays three feet high in two years, ^^■hich 
unaflifted nature will not efFc^ in four. _ 

The plants now raifed in thefe three different ways, may all 
be treated in the fame manner, and removed to the nurfery ; 
when, having cut away their fuperfluous roots and branches, 
attentively encouraging the leading flioot, plant them in a well- 
fheltered quarter of light mould, in lines three and a half feet 
afunder and eighteen inches in the line : In this nurfery give 
them all pofllble culture, by digging the-ground in autumn and 
fpring, and keeping it clean, loofe, and mellow in fummer, fo as 
to increafe their roots, and prune them annually in April to a 
pyramidal form. Here let them continue three, but not exceed- 
ing four years, when they maybe removed to the places wheve 



200 TREATISE on 

they are dcfigned to remain for good ; and tlio' tliefe trees may- 
be removed at greater ages, yet I have found from experience, that 
this is the moll proper time in order to raife them to their 
greateft altitude. 

Th e gold-ftrip'd Bay is of much humbler growth, and is ten- 
derer than the forts before-named. It is commonly kept in 
pots, and houfed in winter with hardy green-houfe plants, tho' 
I have prefervcd it in the open ground, for many years running, 
tmder the protetflion of other hardier Evergreens ; but in fevere 
winters it has been tarnifhed, fometimes loft its leaves, and even 
the young and tender branches have been deftroyed, yet the fuc- 
ceeding fummer repaired thefe misfortunes. It is a very ftrong 
rich variegation, and ought to be in all good colle6tions of 
Evergreens. The beft method of increafing this, is by bud- 
ding it on any of the plain kinds. 

The Bay tree delights moft on a warm, dry, fandy, or gra- 
velly foil, where it will grow to the height of between thirty and 
forty feet ; but to preferve its fine verdure, it fliould be planted 
in fituations defended from the deftruclive north and eaft winds, 
to which if much expofed, it will fometimes fuffer in a very fe- 
vere winter, but generally recovers in fummer, even after ap- 
pearing quite dead. This plant fliould not have a branch taken 
from it but in the fpring of the year, as unflcilful, untimely, and 
late cutting it, has deftroyed great numbers that otherways 
would have defied the fevereft winters, many examples of which 
I have feen. 



FOREST-TREES. 201 

Th e fliade and flavour of the Bay has in all ages been efteem- 
ed falubrious to human bodies ; and its aromatic emiffions were 
in the greateft reputation with the antient phyficians, for clear- 
ing the air, and refifling contagion, befides, for their virtue a- 
gainfl lightning : And we read, that the Emperor Tiberius, who 
was much afraid when that happened, ufed to creep under his 
bed to avoid it, and lhade his head with its boughs. Many 
other phyfical virtues of its. leaves, berries, <i^'C. are afcribed to 
it ; but a relation of them is none of my prefent bufinefs ; only, 
as a plant of elegance and beauty, and that yields a moft re- 
freftiing and healthful perfume a great way around it, I think 
it cannot be too much encouraged in our climate, where few 
(if any) of the large-growing plants have thefe agreeable efFeds. 
in fa high a degree^ 



201 TREATISE 



Chapter XXXVI. 
The arbutus, or STRAWBERRY TREE. 

The Species are : 

1. The common Strawberry Tree, with round fruit. 

2. The Strawberry Tree, with longer flowers and eggf 

fhap'd fruit. 

3. The fmooth-leav'd Strawberry Tree. 

4. The cut-leav'd Strawberry Tree. 

5. The red-flowering Strawberry Tree. 

6. The Strawberry Tree with a double flower.. 



^ I ''HE five forts firfl: mentioned, are to be propagated either by^ 
feeds or layers. The method by feeds I fliall firfl: direcft. 
Tliefe feeds are commonly ripe from the middle of November till 
the end of December, as the fummer and autumn have been more 
or lefs kindly : But one caution is neceflary to be given in ga- 
thering them, which is, not to do it all at once, otherways a great 
part of them will be good for nothing, as there are many ripe 
and unripe fruit on the tree at the fame time. The ripe berries 
are eafily difcovered from thofe that are not, by becoming, from 
the richefl: fcarlet, of a deep brovv^nifli tawny colour : Therefore, 
from the firft time you difcover any of them of this hue, exa- 
mine your trees every two or three days, and gather them as 
long as there' arc any remaining. Thefe berries retain their 



T O R E S T - T R E E S. 203 



growing quality a very fliort time. The common pradlice is to 
feparate the feeds from the pulp immediately as they come from 
the tree : But having long been poIfefTed of a parcel of large Ar- 
butus's, which bore fruit annually, and from which I have rai- 
fed many plants, I have experience of their culture, and know 
this is not the beft method ; but advife the whole berry to be 
preferved entire, and mix'd with dry fand till the feafon of fow- 
ing, when, by foftly rubbing them between your hands, they 
will readily feparate from the pulp, and with that and the fand 
may be fown together. 

About the middle of March, prepare a moderate hot-bed of 
tanners bark ; and if the quantity you intend to raife is large, 
lay on fix inches deep of the fined rich loofe mould, and fow the 
feeds on it, covering them not above the fixth part of an inch 
deep ; but if your quantity is fmall, you may fow them in pots, 
and plunge them up to the rim in the tan. In five or fix weeks 
the plants will begin to appear above ground, when they muft 
be frequently but very lightly fprinkled with water, from a fmall 
nvatering-pot with a fine rofe ; for, being then very tender, if 
the water is carelefsly dallied on them, many will be deftroyed. 
Let the bed be fiiaded with mats during the heat of the day ; 
and when the plants have been a month above ground, they may 
receive the evening dews, and gentle fhowers, more and more as 
they advance in ftrength, till about the beginning of Augufl, 
when, having been well managed, the glafies ought to be taken 
off, that the plants may enjoy all the heavenly influences in mild 
weather ; but as foon as winter approaches, it will be necefiTary 
to have the glaifes at hand, to replace in fevere weather, but at- 
tentively giving them all the open air when otherways. 

C c 2 — 



204 TREATISE o n 

The fucceeding fpring, about the beginning of April, prepare 
another hot-bed, which need only to be arched over with hoops, 
and covered with mats ; raife the feedhngs (which, with regular 
care being taken, ought to be fix or feven inches high) with a 
trowel, with all the earth polTible adhering to them, and put 
them in penny pots filled with fuch foil as formerly mentioned ; 
plunge thefe to the rim immediately on removal into the hot-bed ; 
water them, and continue conflantly to do fo gently as you fee 
the furface become dry, and let them remain in. this flate till the 
beginning of Augufl ; but harden them gradually, by expofing 
them to the open air all the preceding month in moift calm wea- 
ther. At this time take them out of the bark, and place them in 
any warm fpot, under the protection of hedges, till October, 
when they may be expofed to the winter fun in any fituation 
moft convenient, where a mat can be thrown over them during 
a fevere ftorm. The following fpring, take all the mould (now 
exhaufled) from the furface, till you approach the roots, and fill 
the pots again with rich earth ; remove them to a fliady border 
till autumn, watering them in dry weather every fecond or at 
moft third evening, and then expofe them again under a wall or 
hedge to the winter fun. 

Hj^ving now flood twofeafons in the pots, let them be fhaken 
cautioufly out of them with all their bulks of earth, which may 
eafily be done, as by this time the under part of the pots will be 
full of roots and fibres ; pick away as much earth from the 
outer part of the bulk, without breaking the whole, as you can, 
not difturbing the roots, and cut off with a very fharp knife fuch 
as from confinement may be mouldy or mufly ; plunge them in 
water and earth for an hour, and then place them in two-penny 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 205 



pots, where they may continue two or three years as your occa- 
fions require ; but keep them the firft feafbn under fhade and 
flielter, and water them regularly and plentifully in dry weather, 
after which they will reqviire no extraordinary prote6lion, or fur- 
ther trouble, than watering, with other potted plants, as the fea- 
fon requires ; only obferve, every fpring, to take away all the 
earth that will come from the furface of the pots, and replace it 
with that which is frefli and rich. 

These plants being now ftrong and hardy, may be removed 
to the places of their abode for good, which ought to be either 
by nature or art, a generous dry foil, and under the covert of 
other trees at a proper diftance ; for though I never knew any 
flrong plants of the Arbutus killed in a good , foil and fituation, 
except early in life, in the year 1 740, yet, as I fhould not chufe 
running the fmalleft rifque of loling whole plantations of fo love- 
ly trees, and waiting ten or twelve years to fee them again in 
any degree of perfection, I would warmly advife, that every 
nurferyman, at leaft fuch who have the advantage of protecftion, 
fliould keep a large ftore of well-grown plants of them, from 
tliree to fix or eight feet high, in pots, leaft fome fatal ftorm 
Ihould again rob us of thofe in the open ground, and which 
would in fome meafure repair that misfortune. 

The reafon of diredling the confinement of thefe plants fo 
long in pots, is, that their roots are naturally loofe and ftrag- 
gling, with very few fibres, from whence great numbers of them 
never mifs to fail when removed to the open ground ; but being 
contra6led in their bounds, and afilfted by the heat of the bark, 
their difpofitions are changed, and they produce roots and fibres 
in great abundance. 



■2c6 TREATISE on 

It imift alfo be obferved, that this tree is not fond of being 
much pruned at removal, which therefore ought to be performed 
either a year before or after that oneration. 

The fort with double flowers is more dwarfilh and tender 
than the other kinds : It does not readily fucceed^ either by bud- 
ding or common grafting, but may be propagated by inarching 
a branch of it on any of the other forts, which ought to be free- 
growing healthful Hocks, otherways they will not vmite well, or 
be long-lived, 

Th e Arbutus is certainly amongft the moil elegant and beau- 
tiful plants our country produces in a vigorous ftate ; and, to a 
perfon fond of Gardening, who palTes the winter in the "country, 
I cannot think any tree more worthy a careful culture in fo cold 
and inhofpitable a climate as Great-Britain ufually is in the 
winter months. To pop in from the open fields, or even from 
plantations of other trees, to a grove of thefe protedled from 
fhorms, their leaves fhining with the mofl chearfal verdure, their 
bloIToms fmiling as in fpring, and their boughs loaded with the 
richeft fcarlet-coloured fruit, muft infpire any one capable of 
being affe(5led by the beauties of nature, with the moft lively 
and agreeable ideas. 

These trees will not fucceed in moift, heavy, or clay land; 
they will grow tolerably well in a thin and fandy foil, though not 
rich, but they moft affedl that which is deep, loamy, and gene- 
rous. They will rife with us above thirty feet high, in a favour- 
able fituation iheltered at fome diflance by other trees. 



F O R E S T . T R E E S. 207 



Chapter XXXVII. 

THORNS. 

Their Culture from the Seed, till they arrive to the 
fize of becoming Fencible Hedges at tranfplanting. 

The Species are: 

1. The common Hawthorn. 

2. The double flowering HawthorNo 

3. The Glaftenbury Thorn„ 

4. The Cockfpur, or Virginian Hawthorn, 

5. The Virginian Hawthorn, with long ftrong thorns, 

6. The Virginian Hawthorn, with a plum leaf, and black 

fruit. 

7. The common Hawthorn, with white fruit. 

8. The American Hawth CRN, with yellow egg-fhaped fruit. 

9. The American Hawthorn, with yellow round fruit. 

10. The Maple-leav'd Hawth ORN. 

11. The Pyracantha-leav'd Th orn. 

12. The Cockfpur Haw without Thorns. 

13. The narrow-leav'd Hawth CRN. 

14. The Goofeberry-kav'd Thorn, with yellow fruit. 

15. The common Nottingham Medlar. 

16. The large Dutch Medlar. 

17. The Neapolitan Medlar. 

18. The Virginian Medlar, with fliinin^ leaves^ 



4 



TRE ATISE ON 



19. The Dwarf Medlar, with red fruit. 

20. The Dwarf Medlar, with black fruit. 

21. The large red Virginian Azerole. 

22. The Azerole with yellow fruit. 

23. The Pyracantha, or Evergreen Thorn,. 

^ i H E ufual method of propagating the common whire^ 
Thorn, with which I fliall begin, is fo univerfaliy known,, 
as to- render it unnecelTary to be related here ; and the more fo,, 
as it is very faulty, and will admit of as many improvements in 
its culture, as any plant hitherto mentioned in this Treatife. 
Thefe plants, from the feed-bed, are commonly fold at fo low a 
price, that the mofl fkilful nurferyman cannot afford good 
Thorns for double the ufual rates. From this caufe, which is 
ftiled felf-defence, they are generally fown extravagantly thick ; 
and nothing is more common, than to hear nurferymen exulting 
in their knowledge and fliccefs, by having more plants on the fame 
quantity of ground than tlieir neighbours, unmindful that they 
are boafting of their fhame, that the plants are good for nothing, 
and that an experienced judicious planter would not take a pre- 
fent of them for his own ufe. But as the nobleft and mod ufe- 
ful improvements in agriculture, in a great meafure, depend on 
the belt methods of cultivating this common hardy plant, I ihall 
treat it with more difcindlion than it has hitherto been, and feed 
it with better fare. The praflice I Iliall here direct I do not 
mean to infinuate to common nurferymen for fale, as the reafons 
above given make their compliance impracticable, till one or other 
bolder than the reft, or rather private gentlemen, lead the vs^ay,, 



FOREST-TREES. 209 

which they will no fooner do, than find their account in it, be- 
come fenfible of the true value of Thorns from their good or ill 
quality, and encourage thofe nurferymen only who have fkill 
and honefty enough to bellow a good culture : To private gen- 
tlemen therefore, and their gardeners, I mean principally to com- 
niLunicate thefe, the beft inftrudlions I am able to give, for the 
moft fuccefsful and fpeedy manner of railing the ftouteft, har- 
dieft, and lafting Thorn hedges. 

The berries, which are mofl commonly gathered too foon, 
fhould remain on the trees till the end of Odlober, that they be- 
come of a blackilh colour, and their flefli begin to decay. They 
are ufually kept in facks after gathering, and buried in heaps 
on the gardener's receiving them : But this is a material blunder, 
as, from the thick pulp in which the berries are inclofed, they 
become extremely hot ; whence fome of the ripeft kernels, not yet 
hardened, vegetate, and of courfe perifh. Many crops have I 
known fail from this ignorant pra6lice, when the owners could 
affign no caufe for their lofs. Let your Haws then, as foon as 
gathered, be fpread on an airy floor for five or fix weeks, till the 
feeds are dry and firm j from this plunge them into tubs of 
water, and diveft them totally of their pulp, by rubbing them 
between your hands with a little fand ; which being done, 
fpread them again on the loft three or four days, till quite dry, 
and mix them thoroughly with fine loofe fandy mould, in quan- 
tity not lefs than the bulk of the feeds, and lay them in a heap 
againft a fouth wall, covering them over three or four inches 
deep, with foil of the fame quality as that with which they arc 
mix'd ; and in this fituation let them continue till the fecond 
fpring, as the feeds, tho' fown, will not appear the fiffl year. 

D d 



zio TREATISE on 

In order that the berries maybe as equally mix'd with the 
foil as poflible, it will be neceflary to turn over the heaps once 
in two months, blending the covering with the berries, and, at 
every turning, give them a frefli covering in the winter months. 
For want of this precaution, in not mixing the feeds properly, 
and divelling them of their pulp, we univerfally fee, that feldom 
one half of the feeds appear the feafon of fowing them, but con- 
tinue in the ground, though frefli and found, another year ,; and 
then, if the former year's plants are not all raifed, which is rare- 
-ly done, the remainder, by coming up under their fliade, -are ftar- 
ved, and good for nothing. But I fhall now proceed to fuch a 
pracftice (having attended to what has been faid) as will obviatje 
tlaefe unlucky circumflances. 

Th e berries of the Thorn begin to vegetate with the earheil 
plants, and, in the natural feafon of their growth, will fpring, 
if kept in any confiderable quantity togethei;, without the af- 
fiflance of earth ; whence it becomes indifpenfibly neceflary, to be 
prepared, the firfl: dry weather in February, to fow them. This 
being come, feparate the berries from the loofe foil in which 
they were mixed, with a wire fieve, without which it will be im- 
pofllble to fow them in an equal manner. The ground ought 
to be of. a good natural quality, dry, and not lately acquainted 
with dung, which, unrotted, has very malignant efledls on 
many plants, and on none more than the Thorn ; but good frefli 
land being well prepared, divide it in beds three and a half feet, 
broad, with alleys of eighteen inches b£tween them ; pufli over 
a little of the furface of the beds to the alleys, as is pracflifed for 
fmall kitchen -garden feeds ; fow them with great care, fo that 
they, may not rife in clufl:ers, and that the plants, as near .as 



r O R E S T - T R E E S. 211 

can pofTibly be computed, be not clofer than an inch to each 
other ; let the feeds be foundly clap'd into the earth with the 
back of a fpade, draw the foil back again you had puflied off^ and 
add to that covering, from the alleys, to the depth of half an inch 
only ; for no plant is more delicate, when rihng, than the Thorn, 
or more readily fmothered by too deep a covering.. 

Thus managed, the Thorns will all appear the feafon of fow- 
ing, which is properly faving one half of tlieir berries, and pro- 
curiny an equal crop of ftrong plants. 

The fucceeding fpring, draw out all the largeft plants where 
too thick ; fliorten their roots, cut offfo much of their tops as to 
leave them about two inches above ground when planted, and 
lay them (bur beware of dibbling) in lines a foot afunder and 
four inches diftant in the line, to remain two years. 

At the fame time, I have diredled Thorns to be fown on beds 
in the common way, though much thinner. Senfible that I £hall 
not prevail on many gardeners at once to relinquifh thefe pre- 
judices that cuflom has confirmed, yet fome I have the happi- 
nefs to know of more liberal fentiments, and who want no more 
than a reafonable hint to try any experiment that has a feeming 
tendency to promote, by a better culture, the growth of our 
hedges and Foreft-trees : To thefe therefore, and to fuch as are 
not ftraitened for ground, I, from the moft folid. foundation, ad- 
vife the follov/ing pradlice : 

Sow the berries thin, or rather drop them in drills, made 
either with your fingers, or with a very fmall hoe, at eight inches 

D d z 



212. TREATISE ON 

afunder the firft two drills, and double that diftance between 
them and every following two, being careful they are no deeper 
covered than direcfted for thefe in beds ; let the ground be kept 
very clean and mellow about them till the fucceeding fpring, and 
draw them, where too thick, as formerly ; after which, cut the re- 
mainder with a fpade, about five or iix inches -below ground, and 
let them remain another year, having pointed over the ground, 
between the lines, 

' » 

Thx^t this pradlice is no vague opinion, but much, preferable 
to crowding them in beds, carries the cleareft demonftration a- 
longft with it, to every man of the leaft attention, who does not 
choofe to {hut his eyes, and who will only look at thefe plants on 
the edges of beds next the alleys, where he will univerfally j&nd 
them of double the lize, and more abundant in roots than in the 
middle of the beds. 

Notwithstanding the preceding directions, both for pre-- 
paring and fowing the berries, are the bed, rules I know to pro- 
cure ftrong well-grov/n plants, yet, when numbers only are de- 
lired, without regard to faving time, or their future quality, 
many more may be procured with lefs trouble and expence, by 
fowing their feeds immediately after being ripe, or the following 
fpring, of which the latter is the beft feafon, as, from that time, 
the furface of the ground will be but one winter battered with 
the ftorms, in place of two. Thefe feeds may be covered at fow^ 
ing, double the depth of thofe that are to appear the firft feafon. 
In autumn, rake from the beds all moffy corrupted particles, 
and, in the following fpring, before the vegetation is brifli, re- 
duce the covering with a fliort-teeth'd rake to, half an inch. 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 



213 



From this practice, all the found feeds will appear at once ; but 
the plants will not be one fourth-part of the fize, or have near 
fo good roots as thofe whofe berries have been preferved as di- 
redled, and fown on frefli loofe foil, where they arc to appear 
that feafon. From the fmall fize of thefe plants, it v/ill be ne- 
cefFary they remain in the feed-bed two years. 

Thorns may alfo be propagated to much advantage, and 
two years time faved, by cuttings from their roots. For this 
purpofe, at removing a nurfery of thefe plants, cut off all unne- 
ceffary roots that are ftraight and clean, of one, but not more 
than two years growth ; let them not exceed the length of four 
or five inches, and, either early in Oc51;ober, or February, lay them 
in drills cut out with the fpade, with their tops a quarter of an 
inch below the furface ; let thefe drills be a foot afunder, and lay 
the roots in them three or four inches feparate, as not a iingle 
frefli and found root will fail that has been planted with care and 
attention. If the land has been well prepared, of a good quali- 
ty, and kept clean and mellow, the plants will be from eight 
inches to a foot high the firft feafon ; and the following fpring, 
having pointed over the ground between the lines, they ought to 
be cut with hedge fhears, within tvv'o or three inches of the fur- 
face,, when, by continuing a proper culture during the enfuing 
fummer months, they will in general be eighteen inches high,^ 
and moft abundantly rooted at tv^o years old.. 

I AM very far from meaning to divert any one's attention from 
following the juflly eflabliflied principles of raifmg plants in ge- 
neral from their feeds,, fully fenfible of its preference to ail other 
gratftices in moft cafes; but as there are few rules without fome 



2H TREATISE on 

exceptions, this appears to me one ; the faving of time has been 
obferved : To which I fliall add, that thefe plants, in place of or>e 
ftrong perpendicular flioot, (which is commonly the cafe of 
young vigorous feedlings), pufli out a number of flioots very 
much equal in fhrength, and continue to grow in that manne:?, 
without a few branches running away with the juices that ought 
to nourifli many in much the fame proportion ; whence, from, 
experience, I mufl affirm, that for the moft equal, clofe, and; 
impenetrable hedges, plants raifed from young and tender roots 
are the beft ; but for hngle trees, meant to grow in the moft 
comely form, and afpire to the greateft altitude, thofe propaga?- 
ted from feeds are no lefs preferable^. 

All thofe Thorns may now be treated in the fame manner, 
and in Odlober fliould be planted out in lines, at leaft eighteen 
inches afunder and fix inches in the line, their roots having been 
ihortened, and their tops cut off, fo as to ftand four or five 
inches above ground when planted. In this nurfery they fhould 
remain no more than two years, and the ground ought to be 
dug both in autumn and fpring between the lines ; it will like- 
ways much increafe their rooting abundantly, as well as pro- 
mote vigorous clean flioots, that, the year after having been 
planted in this nurfery, they be again cut over an inch or two 
above the former cutting.. 

In autumn, remove thefe to another quarter, and plant them 
in lines four feet afunder and two feet diflant in the line : Let 
them, novf be cut to the height of a foot or fourteen, inches,, and', 
about the end of June, clip them flraight in the fides and thin 

the tops. Hxiving ftood_ here a; year longer, cut them again 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 



215 



to the height of two; or two and a half feet, as, from a favourable 
or bad feafon, their flioots have been more or lefs vigorous, and 
dip them as formerly. The ground having been of a good 
quality, and properly cultivated, the third feafon, they will admit 
of being cut at three and a half feet high about mid-fummer, 
and raifed the following autumn, when they may be planted 
handfome hedges about four feet high, that will at once afford 
both pleafure and fhelter. 

But to bring them to the lafl degree of perfedion, let thefe 
be once more removed with bulks of earth, which they will na- 
turally have, if carefully and fkilfully raifed. For this purpofe, 
let a trench on each lide be dug up confiderably deeper than the 
fpreading roots, and, with a fharp hedge-bill, cut acrofs all the 
downright ones, which, from the former tranfplantations and 
proper dreflings, will not be many or ftrong ; but while this is 
performing, let the plants be held fteady from the oppofite fide, 
w:hich otherways, by fhaking, would occafion much of the earth 
to moulder away. This being done, lay them foftly down on 
one fide, and with a fharp knife fmooth the extremities of their 
rxDOts, equally fhortening thofe that are downright or too fpread- 
ing. Let ftraight trenches now be ready to receive them at 
eight, or, where land can be fpared, ten feet afunder ; in thefe 
trenches let them be placed the fame depth they formerly flood, 
and at four feet diflance in the line, giving them an abundant 
watering ; cultivate the ground about them, which may be 
crop'd with various kitchen herbs, and here let them remain 
three years, clipping, and in all fliapes drefTmg them to theii- 
proper form, as if planted out for good. 



1' R E A T I S E ON 



Early in Oclobcr, while the ground is warm, begin planting 
thefe hedges where they are meant to remain. To efFe6l this 
properly, throw out a trench as formerly, but both wider and 
■deeper than to contain the roots : If the ground is poor and 
thin, lay a flratum of any middling frefh foil at the bottom of 
the trench fix or eight inches deep, or, where your fituation will 
admit, the more the better ; and having levelled the trench to a 
-depth fuitable for receiving the plants, let the earth fettle for 
fome days, that it may not afterwards fubfide in any material 
degree. In the mean time, before raifmg the hedges you in- 
tend, go over them vAth a light fliarp hedge-bill, and cut out 
all fuch branches, particularly towards the top, as are too thick 
crov/ded together ; cut them to your dehred height, not exceed- 
ing fix feet high ; then raife, and plant them as directed for the 
former removal, at fuch diftances as to join entirely clofe 
together ; let them have a plentiful watering at planting, and 
repeat it three or four times during the dry fpring and fummer 
months, when, after being eftabliflied one year, they will refill 
the rudeft attempts of the wildeft animals in this country. 

The wind is the great enemy of new-planted Thorn-hedges 
at any conhderable fize ; but, by the judicious performance of 
what has here been dire6led, from which the root will be a full 
balance for the body, it cannot polfibly have the fmalleft ill ef- 
fe6l. Every gardener of common underflanding, in order to 
fave feveral years growth, juftly enquires after old hedges, (I mean 
I fuch as are not, from age or other circumftances, in a decaying 
ftate), in order to cut them over to effedl that defirable end. I need 
not mention, that fuch grow more in one year than a young 
Thorn in three or four ; and if they grow freely without any pre- 
ceding culture, when cut over, and removed at the fame time, 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 217 



(which by the bye imift be no fmall violence done them at 
an advanced age) I am at a lofs to find out a reafbn 
why, having been cultivated fo as to give them ten times 
the number of roots they poiTibly can have in their wild ftatc, 
without wounding them, the common deftrucIHiion of old trees, 
and brought them to fuch a proportion of body as thofe roots 
will keep fufficiently fteady ; I fay, thefe circumfhances con- 
fidered, from what foundation can a doubt arife, that Thorn- 
hedges immediately fencible will not fucceed? Strange, that 
in a country which boafls of abounding with the befl gardeners 
in Europe, fuch fimple effays of their art (and which could not 
fail of anfwering the intention) fliould not be frequently executed 
for the benefit of fuch as are willing to beftow a little more than 
common expence, and chufe (if I may be allowed the exprefiion) 
to overtake time, or at any rate to repair what has been loft, by 
the immediate poffefiion of what, to a fober virtuous mind, is 
among ft the moft agreeable and rational enjoyments ! 

I CANNOT leave this lubjecl, without taking notice of, and 
warning againft the baneful pradlice cf almoft univerfally clip- 
ping our hedges thick, and broader at top than bottom. This, 
in my time, has rendered of little benefit the greateft part of 
the fences within my knowledge, which, properly trained, would 
have been the liigheft ornament, and moft folid improvement 
our fields are capable of receiving. How a pra6lice fo glaiiiigly 
oppofite to nature, and even common fenfe, fliould be adopted 
in a country devoted both to the ftudy and pradllce of planting, 
is ftrange to imagine ! but unluckily it requires no proof that 
fuch is the cafe. The under parts of the hedges fo trained, are 
quite deprived of the benefit of the rains and dev^s, thefe indii- 

E e 



2l8 



TREATISE 



penfible fiipports of their ftrength and verdure, and are in fome 
degree fmothered, from whence the weakefl branches annually 
perifh, till at laft the bottom becomes quite naked, which no fu- 
ture care or induftry can repair but by cutting them over, or at 
leaft reducing their height, and pruning them clofe to naked 
trunks. This, tho' a certain, is yet a tedious cure ; and to expofe 
one's fields to their original cold and defencelefs ftate, after for 
many years beftowing as much as, properly applied, would 
have made them continue beautiful and fencible for ages, mufl 
be a mortifying circumftance to any man, but, the fhortnefs of 
life coniidered, doubly fo to one advanced in years : Let it then 
be invariably obferved, from the firft clipping, till your hedges 
arrive at their intended height, that you make them gradually 
taper from the bottom, till they become quite lharp at top, in form 
of a razor. This too is faving money, as the apparatus of ftand- 
ing-ladders, fcaffolds, 6'^". necelTary for cutting the tops of high 
hedges, becomes expenfive, and, with the hands required con- 
ftantly to move them, will coft much more than clipping both 
the fides, which can eafily be performed, to the height of fifteen 
feet, by a man {landing on the ground, with the affiflance 
of fpring-fliears. 

Many have been the arguments with men of more words 
than refledlion and obfervation, whether or not it is necefTary to 
continue the pradice of clipping hedges till old, where ornament 
is not required, and that are only the boundaries or divifions of 
corn or grafs fields. Good gardeners, I am well perfuaded, 
never difputed on this fubjed ; for if the greater warmth hedges 
afford to the grounds around them conftitute their greater value 
in this cold climate, I iliould think no fenfible man can hefitate 
to give an extraordinary preference to thofe that are clip'd ; 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 219 

the reafons for which are too apparent to require further explan- 
ation. I have never feen hedges, growing for a number of years 
rude, that were either warm in winter, or clofe at bottom, which 
proceeds from a v-ery natural caufe. The Thorn tree, when lui- 
der no difcipline, grows in a loofe ragged manner, with heavy 
and fpreading tops, which, for want of air and moiflure, deftroy 
many of the under branches, and when planted in loofe or wet 
lands, the winter winds difplace and disfigure them extremely ; 
fo that, all circumftances confidered, I could never difcover any 
well-founded argument againft clipping them but the expence, 
which, if annually done af cer a proper manner, in the mionths of 
July and Auguft, will be fmall in proportion to the pleafure and. 
benefit you will otherways derive from them. 

Digging and keeping clean a border on each fide of your 
hedges, at leaft for a few years, will alfo be well-beftowed la- 
bour, as it will mush accelerate their growth, and contribute to 
their fpeedily thickening at bottom.. 

Many inaprovements may likewife furely be made on com- 
mon pradice, in the difpofition and manner of planting our 
young Thorn hedges. Some lands indeed are fo thin and mcigre 
as not to produce tolerable fences without a greater deptli o± loil, 
but hardly any are fo bad (very wet grounds excepted) as net 
to nourifii Thorns in fuch a degree as to become fencible, by an 
addition of foil, though of the lame quality, well blended toge- 
ther, and expofed to the finnmer's fun and winter's froft. 

Without proceeding immediately, however, on this fubjcd:, 
I.caiinot help taking notice, that the common method of laying^ 

E e 2 



220 TREATISE 

our Thorns on the fides of banks above ditches, and raifing bul- 
warks of turf over them, is an abfolut^ oppofition to every 
principle of nature I am capable of difcovering. I have often 
been told, but was never in the leaft convinced, of the utility of 
this pradice; nor can I pofiibly believe, that a plant comprefTed 
in this manner, without its roots readily partaking of the hea- 
venly influences, can be equally nourilhed with one growing on 
a level loofe furface that freely enjoys them all. But without 
further endeavouring to demonftrate the abfurdity of hedges in 
this fituation, let us fee the eff(;6ls of it, and let any conliderable 
extent of fuch that are warm, lightly, and fencible, argue in their 
defence. On this appearing, I fliall gladly acknowlege my error : 
In the mean time, I can fl-iow, in moil counties of the kingdom, 
large tradls of land fo inclofed, and where, in the mofl confi.de- 
rable eftates, there is not a fingle park that will confine cattle, 
without many gaps being made up with paling, or dead brufh- 
%ood, the laft of which increafes the evil, as nothing is more 
contagious to the living branches than being mingled with dead 
ones ; neither can hedges fo planted be with eafe clip'd from 
the bottom of the ditch, or when any of the plants perifh, can 
they again be properly inferted. But what is worft of all, if the 
foil is not an obftinate clay or till, the earth annually moulders 
away ; fo that, in a few years, one fide of their roots are left 
naked and expofed to the weather, whence too, from the weight 
jof the tops, the winds often bring down both hedge and bank. 
In fliort, from the general furvey I have made over moft parts 
of the kingdom, I cannot help thinking that method of inclofing 
has more retarded the advantages which muft have arifen to ju- 
dicious farmers from a better fyflem, than all the other blun- 
ders I know put together. It has likeways, by exhibiting a bad 



POREST-TREES. 221 



example, deterred many from inclofing at all, and put others 
on building ftone-walls at great expence, though neither fb 
beautiful, nor improving to the fields around, as lofty hedges 
well trained. I fliall therefore endeavour to give fome few hints, 
that, if flcilfuUy executed, will certainly promote their ufual 
'growth and thicknefs, and that at little, if any greater expence 
than attends the common practice. 

In order to inclofe a dry thin foil, mark out the fides of your 
ditch four feet wide ; raife the turfs from the furface fixteen 
inches fquare ; leave a fcarfment of eight inches within the top 
of the ditch, and lay them with the green fide downwards ; three 
rows of turfs will exhauft the furface of the ditch, when lay a 
line of Sweet Briars three or four years old, (that have been 
tranfplanted) , from a foot to eighteen inches afunder, and co- 
ver them with the beft earth below the turf, laying the remain- 
der, fo far as good, immediately beyond their roots, fo that a 
deep border of the beft foil that the place will afford, to be af- 
terwards planted with Thorns, may be formed. Procure turf 
from the adjacent grounds, till you raife the bank eighteen inches 
higher, and lay another line of Sweet Briars, placing them fo 
that every plant may be above the interftices of the former line. 
Thefe being alfo properly covered, finifli your ditch to the depth 
of four feet, and as narrow at bottom as a man can ft and to 
heave the foil over the bank : Proceed then to compleat the bank, 
which, for an immediate oxitward fence, ought to be four feet 
high ; and lay the higheft row of the turfs with the green fide 
upwards, which will fooneft make them unite, and confolidatc 
the whole. The common pra6lice is to make thefe banks flope 
in the fame proportion the fides of the ditches do ; and the argu- 



2.2Z 



r R E A T I S E o N 



1 



ment fo-r it is, that they Hand the weather better. But if the 
turfs are well laid, and foundly clapped together with the back 
of a fpade, there is not the fmalleft danger of their failing at 
that height, and therefore I would advife them to be laid with- 
in fix or eight inches of being perpendicular : My reafons for 
which are, that I mean this bank, with the Sweet Briars plant- 
ed on it, as foon as pofTible to hang over that fide of the ditch 
imder it, to prevent violent rains from waihing it down, and 
which^ by giving it the ufual flope, cannot fo fbon be afPedled. 
It will alfo be a better defence againll cattle,, w^ho often make at- 
tempts to get over ditches and banks that have too eafy a Hope ; 
but from this pofition they have no footing, and when the 
Sweet Briars are grown two years, cattle in the bottom of the 
ditch cannot raife their heads, without being oppofed by therp, 
which they will not attempt a fecond time. A fheep-park thus 
inclofed, will, in three or four years, confine thefe animals no 
lefs efFedlually than the higheft, wall, as they, and indeed horfes 
or cows, cannot bear the touch of them. No perfon in ordinary 
circumflances need fcruple the expence of the Sweet Briars, 
as there is not any plant more eafily or expeditioufly raifed j but 
if. you have them not, and do not chufe the trouble or delay of 
raifmg them, they may be purchafed for a, few fhillirigs per 
thoufand. The Briars abound with fo great a quantity of pene- 
trating roots and fibres, as foon to render any bank they a<re 
placed on impenetrable as a wall ; and there is no plant yet dif- 
covered fo proper for filling up the gaps of old hedges of all 
kinds, where plants of the fame fort with thefe hedges will not 
fucceed, . But I fhall proceed to the inner fide of the bank. 

Having furniflied this with the beft earth you can procure, 
Hope it fo gradually as that the rains may not wafh it down, to. 



F D R E S T - T R E E S. 223 



about three feet below the level of its top, which is allowing a 
foot of forced foil above the furface, for a border to receive the 
Thorns. This border {hould be at leaft two feet broad within 
the hedge, and made hollow, the better to retain the moifture. 
On this plant your Thorns in thicknefs proportioned to the fize 
of your plants ; for the common run of Thorns three or four 
years old, fix inches diftance is the general rule, but for flout 
ones that have been twice removed, and confequently have a- 
bundance of roots, a foot will be clofe enough. Thefe Thorns 
ought not to be planted upright, but fhould be laid as near as 
may be in a horizontal poiition, fo that the top of the one extend 
as far, and be jufl above the root of the other. This method of 
planting, in place of a few vigorous rambling fhoots from the top 
of the plant, which is ufually the cafe with fuch as are planted 
perpendicular, will make them brufh from the bottom like a fan, 
and in two years, by keeping them as has been diredled, they will 
be fo clofe that a fmall bird cannot get through them. But let it 
be obferved, I do not mean this to be pracftifed in the nurfery, nor 
even in the field, for fuch as are above fix or feven years old, or 
that are planted above the height of two, or two and a half feet 
high, as this oblique pofition, in large brufliy plants, will not 
admit of their roots having the fame flability to refifl the winds 
as thofe placed upright. 

The different fizes of Thorns, to procure fencible hedges 
fooner or later, has already been mentioned ; and it muft be left 
to every man to judge for himfelf, what money or labour he 
chufes to beftow : Therefore I iliall only fay, that an old Thorn is 
hardier than a young one, and will fucceai in coarfe obflinate 
grounds, where the other will perifla ; to wdiich I may add, that 



224- TREATISE on 

die dilTerence of expence between thofe of three and fix years old 
is nothing, as, allowing the oldeft to be double the price, they 
will go double the length. In unkindly foils, what I have here 
faid, I know experimentally cannot be juftly refuted ; but it may 
be returned, that fmall Thorns planted in good foil, at the fame 
diftances they ought to ftand when older, will in time make 
equally good hedges. This I muft grant ; but the difference of 
expence can bear no proportion to the advantage of having a 
good fence three or four years fooner, and faving the expence of 
culture for that time, which for fmall plants is much greater 
than large ones; fo tha.t in the main^I cannot think any circum- 
fiance, but that very bad one of poverty, Ihould juftly excufe a 
man who plants fmall Thorns, where large ones are to be had at 
a moderate price. 

Th e fame rules diredled for training Thorns in the nurfery-^ 
to be afterwards planted at the fizes of fencible hedges, are to be 
continued progreflively, when planted out for good in the fields 
ever after. 

If it is obje(f^ed, that I have excluded Thorns from being 
planted in the banks above ditches, and yet diredled Sweet Briars 
there,, to the reafons already given I fliall only add, that the 
Sweet Briar is an exceeding hardy plant, and will fucceed in 
many foils and fituations where Thorns will not ; and what is 
more material in the prefent cafe, is, that being a dwarf light 
£hrai?> they never arrive to fuch a fize or weight, as to be affedl- 
ed by the v/inds in any degree that will in the leaft loofen or 
ihake the banks, which is too frequently the cafe with Thorns, 



FOREST-TREES. 



Of all the devices yet fallen on for planting hedges, none arc 
fo natural, and effedual for the inward divifions of dry ground, 
as that of doing it on the furface of a well-dug, or trenched bor- 
der, thickened where the foil is thin, or mellowed by labour and 
warm loofe earth, where cold and ftiff. Next to that, both in 
point of beauty and utility, is on the top of a funk fence built 
with ftone ; but even there, though for feveral years they will 
grow much about as fall as on a level bottom, yet, when the 
roots approach the wall, thev are of confequence retarded in 
their progrefs on that fide, and will not afterwards grow with 
the fame luxuriance as on the furface unconfined on both 
Udes. 

In wet lands, not only ditches, but double ones, and deeper 
than thofe dire(5led, are indifpenfibly neceffary, as the firft capi- 
tal improvement that can be made, which ought to be fo difpo- 
fed as to receive fmall covered drains from all the wet quarters 
of the adjacent fields, at the neareft diftances may be, to con- 
vey the whole water away ;. and which^ in many fituations, may 
fave a great expence, by fliortening the unnecelTary diflances of 
thefe drains. 

Many hard-laboured Treatifes have been written, and plans- 
drawn, directing the manner of draining grounds, but, for ge- 
neral practice, they are all inefFe(5lual, and of little other ufe than 
to amufe the ignorant. The different kinds of drains for diffe- 
rent foils, accommodated to the materials thofe foils produce, or 
that are conveniently to be had, may be diredtcd ; but no lan- 
guage can convey fuch rules as wili inftru{5l tiie unexperienced 
in the knov/ledge of an univerfal fyftera, as the fame plan will 

F f 



226 TREATISE on 

rarely anfwer any two fields of a hundred, and therefore, with-- 
out getting a particular plan of every fpot, we get nothing, a ge- 
nerally ufeful one being impradlicable. Nature muft ditlate the 
courfes we are to follow, good fenfe purfae thofe didates, and^ 
experience condudl the diffex^nt manners of operation,. 

Where double ditches are determined, the breadth of the" 
bank between them muft be proportioned to what plantation 
you there intend ; but in general they are made too narrow, . 
from whence the bank becomes dry, and the plants of courfe 
are not properly nouriihed. For a hedge only, the bank ought 
to be nine feet at bottom, and eight at the top; for a hedge and 
one line of trees, fixteen, that is, planting the trees at eight feet 
from the hedge, and four from the edge of the bank ; and for 
two lines of trees, one on each fide of the hedge, twenty-eight 
feet. This I think is the meanefl allowance ought to be granted,; 
but where what is commonly called ftripes of planting are rer 
quired, either for the benefit of the wood, or the improvement 
of the climate by fhelter, the plantation ought to be broader or 
narrower as the inclofures they furround are greater or lefs, . 

Let the quality of the foil be confidered in the confl;ru<5lion 
of ditches, and more bafe given to the perpendicular height, 
where the land is loofe and fandy, or fpungy and mofiy, . than 
where well tempered and folid, or obftinate clay and tilL, A 
ditch, on foils of the latter qualities, four feet wide, will admit 
of being the famxe depth ; of the former, three feet depth to the 
fame breadth, will in general. be as much as it will bear, and fo 
in proportion as the ditches are broader or narrower. In fpouty 
and moffy foils the Sweet Briars will be doubly ufeful, as they 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 



•will there fucceed better than mod other plants, and confolidatc 
the banks fooner and more efFediially. 

The fences in "Windfor Forefl, for containing the deer, and 
preventing their depredations in the adjoining fields and planta- 
tions, are highly characlerifed by fome authors, and held by many 
improvers as the befl model for hedges in general. But I am for- 
ry I cannot agree with their fentiments, thofe I am well acquaint- 
ed with having lived a confiderabie time in the neighbourhood 
of them : They are conftrucfted by throwing up double ditches, 
with the contents of which they form a bank between them ; 
on the top of this bank, they plant a hedge-row of white Thorn, 
Crab, Maple, Hazel, Elder, Elm, and Oak trees ; the banks they 
cram full of black Thorns, Brambles, and common Briars ; below 
which, and a little above the ditches, they form a dead hedge, 
by driving flakes in the ground, interwoven with black and 
white Thorns, Brambles, Briars, or whatever brufh-wood they 
can moll conveniently procure, to prote(5l the plants till they be- 
come fencible. That thefe kinds of bulwarks may frighten 
deer, or even lions, wolves, and tygers from approaching them, 
1 cannot doubt, as they prefent a moft unnatural, gloomy, and 
horrid profpedl, and which, in my opinion, highly deform a fpot, 
otherways abounding with the fweeteft, richefl, and moft mag- 
nificent objects I ever beheld. One great argument ufed in de- 
fence of thefe fences, is, the profitable returns they yield for 
fuel, in a country where they have no coal nearer than London ; 
but I fhould think very little ingenuity might contrive how to 
raife more and better fuel on the fame quantity of ground, with- 
out fliocking the fight, a great part of that being employed in 
■trumpery that yields very little good fuel : In fliort, I cannot 

F f 2 



TREATISE ON 



tliink them calculated for any tiling, but a favage uncultivated 
countrj'', where there is danger of being invaded by wild beafts, 
whofe incurfions they might probably repel. 

Where hedges of uncommon ftrength are required, I know 
nothing fo efFecflual as double lines, planted in the triangular 
manner ; fo that the plants in one line may be diredlly fronting 
the interftices of the other, whence animals attempting to force 
their heads through any weak part of one line, are met in the 
nofe, and repulfed by the plant oppoiite. Thefe plants too, 
growing in concert, afford a mutual aid by flieltering each other, 
and will for feveral years grow fafter than a fingle line. 

Standards of all kinds in hedges are highly deftrudlive, as, 
by hanging over, they fmother the plants below, (hake them, 
and in all refpedls rob them of much nourifliment. 

Hedges that have grown any confiderable time wild and un- 
cultivated, muft neceffarily become ragged and open. To remedy 
this, the common way to make them become immediately fen- 
cible, is plafhing them ; and where they are not above ten or 
twelve years growth, I have known fuch become tolerable 
fences, when not too much wounded, (the common error) 
but done with fldll and attention, being regularly clip'd after- 
wards ; but if they are not taken about that age, the feverity of 
the wounds, neceffary to make them comply to their proper fta- 
tions, are fo great, that in a few years many of them die, and be- 
coming full of gaps, are more unfightly, and lefs fencible than 
ever ; whence the advantage is of fliort duration, and the remedy 
becomes worfe than the difeafe. But the only method of cure 



P O R E S T - T R E E S. 229 

I can devife, and which I have often fuccefsfully pradlifed for old 
overgrown Thorn-hedges, is to prune them clofe to their bodies, 
and cut them over fmooth, a good deal flanting, to the height of 
about four feet, and fupply the gaps with old Hollies, if to be 
had, or, failing thofe, with ftrong plants of Sweet Briar, both 
of which ought to be divefted of great part of their branches, 
which will make them pulh out a greater number of young ones 
more vigoroufly, rehft the winds, and fooner become ftrong 
equal fences. 

In fupplying thefe vacancies, however, a little extraordinary 
labour and attention muft be bellowed, by cutting down the 
roots of the old Thorns with a pick-ax, afterwards fmoothing 
them with a hedge-bill, and making the hole as large and deep 
as the fpaces will pollibly allow them to be ; to which, if frefh foil 
is added in place of the exhaufted earth taken out, your greater 
fuccefs, from faving time by more liberal fhoots, will largely 
repay the expence. 

To defcribe the various methods that have been pra(5lifed 
by inclofing grounds with hedges and ditches, would be both 
tedious and unneceffary ; nor would it be difficult to direct a yet 
greater variety of ways hitherto unpradlifed, further than from 
making experiments, many of which I have tried ; but the few 
rules here recommended, as they are the moft natural and fim- 
ple, fo I have ever found them the moft fuccefsful, and believe 
faying more on the fubjed: would be fuperfluous. 

Th e following thirteen kinds of Thorns are worthy of being 
cultivated in all good colledions of flowering plants, where, 



TREATISE on 

from the beauty and fragrance of their bloflbms in fpring, 
joined to the rich glow of their fruits in autumn, they have a 
moft chearful efFefl, propei ly difpofed in the wildernefs, or in 
groves near the houfe. 

They are all, except the double-blofTom'd fort, to be propa- 
gated from feeds, where thefe can be procured ; but as fome of 
them are apt to vary from the parent plant, when increafed that 
way, I fliould rather advife their being grafted or budded on the 
common kind, from whence they will not only fooner become 
fruitful, but ever after continue to be fo, wherein their greateft 
beauty coniifts, 

TfiE Medlars and Azeroles are cultivated, both for mixing 
with other trees in ornamental plantations, and for the fake of 
their fruit in the kitchen garden, where they are planted in 
flandards and efpaliers. They will fucceed by grafting, or 
budding them on the common Hawthorn, but will be improved 
both in the fize of the plant, and flavour of the fruit, by doing 
them on the Pear-ftock. To inlarge the tree, a deep moift foil is 
neceflary ; but where fruit is the motive, a generous dry mould 
and warm fituatipn is required. 

Let the flocks for the Thorns, when grafted or budded, be in 
a free-growing vigorous fhate, and about the bulk of on^'s finger, 
three or four feet above ground, which will be a proper height 
for thefe operations. The Pear- flocks, for the Medlars and Aze- 
roles, mufl be proportioned to the ufes you intend them for : If 
-for dwarfs, efpaliers, or wails, graft them within three or four 
inches pf the ground ; but if for flandards, the fame height as 



r O R E S T - T R E E S. 231 

for the Thorns will be better, as otherways (they growing in a 
loofe ftraggling manner) it will be difficult to raife them with 
ftraight clean bodies. 

The Pyracantha or Evergreen Thorn is a trailing plant, and 
cannot be raifed to a fightly ftandard, but is very propci 'X»r co- 
vering walls near the houfe, where the fliining verdure of the 
leaves in winter, almoft covered with large bunches of rich fcar- 
let-coloured fruit, is extremely beautiful. They are eafily propa- 
gated from feeds fown in February, in the fame manner as the 
common Hawthorn, but in a fhady border, part of which will 
rife the lirft, and the remainder the fecond fpring, and thefemake - 
much better plants than thofe increafed by layers. 

I HAVE ever thought we pay too little refpedl to the common 
Hawthorn in our ornamental plantations, as, in thefeafon of its 
bloom, I know few trees exceed it either in beauty or fragrance ; 
I would therefore recommend it more in wildernefa work, as well 
as fingle plants in lawns, where a confiderable number of them, 
judicioufly interfperfed with others, would highly decorate thofe 
fcenes. The Thorn too, unconfined, aud its natural luxuriance 
of growth encouraged, becomes a ftately tree; and the wood, 
which is extremely hard, and finely variegated, particularly to- 
wards the root, is not inferior to Box for many curious and 
ufeful pm'pofes. 



T R E A T 1 S E an. 



Chapter XXXYIII. 
On the PROPAGATION of TREES by LAYERS. 

'T^HE manner of preparing mother plants or ftools, from 
A which you are to propagate trees by layers, has already 
been dire6led under the article of the Elm Tree. Thefe direcftions^ 
having been obferved, and ftrong clean ftioats produced, early 
in Odober begin the operation, with all the hardy deciduous 
trees that are mofl: proper to be cultivated in that way, and 
which are mentioned tinder their refpedlive names. In. the firft 
place, cautioufly bend down all the principal branches around, 
the ftool, without wounding them, if poiTible, to comply, (tho' 
often diredled and pradifed) ; let them be at fuch diftances from 
one another, as to admit all the fmaller collateral fide-branches 
to be laid between them, and let them be fi'rmdy peg'd down to 
the ground with hook'd Clicks, as other ways, if the fhoots are 
ftrong, the prelTure of the earth alone will not prevent their 
ftarting up again. If the principal fhoots have no fide-branches 
fit to lay, that is, if they are not about a foot in length, let all 
under that be pruned clofe away, and the main fhoot be. only laid; 
all the very fmall twigs from the fide-branches muft likeways 
be cut clofe, or rub'd off, as the fewer flioots the layers produce, 
they will be the ftraighter and more vigorous. But before pro- 
ceeding to cover them, I fliall mention the different ways necef- 
fary to be pradlifed with the. branches, in order to facilitate their 
rooting. 



FOREST-TREES. 233 



Some tye a piece of wire hard, round the twig, at that part 
where the roots are delired, and prick it above the wire, through 
the bark with an aul, in feveral places. 

Where the wood is very hard and unwilling to root, the 
branches are fometimes cut by a flit upwards from a joint, as is 
pra(?cifed in laying Pinks and Carnations, which is called by 
the gardeners tonguing the layers : But this feverity I would fel- 
dom chufe to pradtife, as trees difpofed to root by layers at all, 
may be prevailed on to do fo by gentler means, when thefe means 
are fkilfully applied. The plants raifed in that manner, are long 
of recovering their wounds, and not only very apt to be torn 
afunder at taking them from their mother, but for a long time 
after on removing them. 

Twisting the place you defignto peg down into the ground 
is often done, but with feveral kinds of hard wood it does not 
anfwer properly ; with all the foft kinds it is an excellent practice. 

There are other different operations performed in laying 
trees ; but the fpecimens given are the beft I know, but one, 
which, though very fimple,. I have fuccefsfully pracflifed during 
the greatefi: part of my life, and that is, fcratching off the bark 
as deep as the wood, where the roots are wanted, about two or 
three inches in length, and tw^o thirds round in ftout branches, 
or lefs in finall ones.. 

Having treated the branches in one or other of the ways de- 
fcribed, proceed to putting them in the ground, by pee:ging 
down that part where you have made any inciiion, and v^'ith 
both your hands prefTmg it into the earth, till it become fharp 



234 TREATISE oh 

at the joint, and the branch from that be quite perpendicular 
for if they are only bent in the form of a club, they will not by 
any future culture make fhately or handfome trees. Let them be 
covered about four inches deep, and their tops cut over two or 
three buds above the furface ; and then raife up the earth round 
each of the ftools a little higher than the bed of the layers, hol- 
low'd within, in form of a bafon, the- better to contain the rains 
that fall, or the water given them by hand, which in dry wea- 
ther fliould not be fpared, as nothing will contribute more to 
their rooting abuadantly. 

It will likeways be proper to go over the layers about the 
middle or towards the end of May, and rub off all the buds and 
tender fhoots but the moft promifing one, as, by a greater num- 
ber of branches, the kindly effects of the rains and dews are pre?- 
vented, and the large fBioots fmother the fmall ones. 

The autumn, as has been faid, is the bell feafon for laying 
all hardy deciduous plants ; for fuch as are delicate, the fpring 
is a much fafer feafon, as, immediately after the operations necef- 
fary to be made, a hard winter fucceeding might moft probably 
kill fuch totally : For the fame reafon too, I prefer laying the ten- 
der Evergreens at that time alfo, rather than the ufual feafons of 
Auguft and September. But for the hardy kinds, I know no 
other feafon needful to be obferved, than that in which one can 
beft fpare time, as the fooner you lay them, you will the fooner 
raife them. 

Though feme little inciiion is necelTary on the layers of moft 
hard-wocded trees, yet in the Lime, and many other foft pliable 
plants, nothing more is v/anting than a proper covering, and 
• attention to tlie other circumftances of culture direc^led in geueraL. 



F O R E S T . T R E E P;. 



235 



C II A P T E Jl XXXIX, 

On grafting and INOCULATION. 

OF all the aids Nature has received from Art in the producli- 
ons of the vegetable world, none has perhaps been more 
aftonifhingly great and ufeful to mankind in the improvement 
of gardening, than what has been derived from the culture of 
trees and generous fruits, by grafting and inoculation. By this 
happy difcovery, we can not only preferve every fpecies bounti- 
fully beftowed on us by the great Aiithor of Nature, which 
otherways, by inattention and floth, and without exerting that 
Jcnowledge, would, many of them, have degenerated, by barely 
fowing their feeds, but we have it alfo in our power, by the 
pradice of thefe means, ever to improve the quality of thofe, the 
noblefl gifts the earth affords us. 

I SHALL therefore mention the different ways of grafting 
that are or have been ufually pradlifed, as, in certain cafes, all 
of them may be ufeful, where overgrown flocks, or fuch as arc 
not of a proper age and fize for one manner of operation, may 
be accommodated to another ; and then notice the ways I have 
found beft fuited to thefe different circumftances. But fome 
time before proceeding to the execution, let the materials be 
provided in the following manner : 

G g 2 . 



zzb TREATISE 



Th e grafts of all hardy trees are the better to be cut three or 
four weeks, and laid in a fliady border fix or eight inches deep, 
before grafting : Such, which the gardeners call thirfty grafts, 
are ever found to unite fooner, and more certainly, than when 
the circulation of the fap is equally brilk in both the graft and 
ilock • and I never had more fuccefs, than with grafts that were 
fo much flirivel'd in the bark, and feemingly withered, as to be 
thought only fit for the fire by fuch as were unfkil'd in the 
art. 

Where your ftocks are ftrong, that is, not lefs than half an 
inch diameter, a ftout flumpy graft with thick-fet plump buds, 
is much to be preferred to a flender one, for the luxuriant growth 
of all hardy Foreft-trees ; but where bloffoms and fruit are foon 
deiired, or the tree meant to be dwarfed, the reverfe muft be ob- 
ferved. 

The grafts being cut and laid by the heels, their covering 
ought next to be prepared, by colleding the quantity neceffary 
of ftrong, fat, loamy clay, to which add a fifth or fixth part of 
new-made horfe-dung, mix'd with fome hay or ftraw cut very 
linall, which will bind the whole better together, and prevent 
its rending and falling off the trees. Thefe muft be well blended, 
by often beating, and pouring water on them every fecond or 
third day, till they become folid and well incorporated ; after 
which the whole fliould be hollow'd in form of a difli, not expofed 
to froft or drying winds, and kept moift by regularly pouring 
Avater on it as it becomes dry, till it is ufed. 



Th e inftruments neceffary for the different operations are : 



FOREST-TREES. 237 

1. A fmall liand-faw, to cut off the heads of large flocks. 

2. A good flrong pruning-knife, with a thick back, to make 

clefts in the flocks. 

3 . A fmall knife, made very fliarp, to cut the grafts. 

4. A grafting-chifel, and a fmall mallet. 

5. A wedge, to keep open the clefts in large flocks till the 

infertion of the graft. 

6. A bafs mat, or wodllen yarn, to tye the grafts cut in 

pieces at lengths proportioned to the bulk of the flocks. 

Since the firft invention of grafting, there have been many 
various ways of performing it ; but the following has been 
found the befl, and moft fuccefsful : 

1. Grafting in the rind, or Shoulder-grafting, which is only 

proper for trees two inches diameter or upwards. 

2. Cleft or Slit-grafting : This is proper for flocks from about 

three quarters of an inch to two inches diameter. 

3. Whip or Tongue-grafting : This, for flocks not exceeding three 

quarters of an inch diameter, is the mofl readily perform- 
ed, and far mofl fuccefsful manner of any. By whip-graft- 
ing, the wounded flock foon heals, and where the growth 
is vigorous, in two years the flock and graft become fo 
perfecftly united, that one will hardly difcover any incifion 
having been made. 

4. Grafting by approach, inarching, or ablacflation : This is to 

be performed on plants in pots, or when the flock you 



8 TREATISE 



WG\i]d graft on, and the tree from which you take your 
.graft, Hand, or can be brought fo near together that they 
may be joined : But inarching is only proper for tender 
and exotic plants, as from this operation they never become 
vigorous hardy trees, though, to bring about the fudden 
produdlion of flowers and fruit, no pradlice has yet been 
found fo fuccefsful ; and you may even inarch trees with the 
blolToms and fruit upon them, but this is committing vio- 
lence, and it is better to allow an intimate x:onjun6lion, by 
a free circulation of the fap, before you admit of their 
bearing any quantity of fruit at leaft, which confiderably 
impairs the Hrength of all young new-planted or new- 
grafted trees. This method is to be performed three or four 
weeiks later than any of the preceding ways, and when the 
juices are in high circulation. 

Grafting in the root : This is of much later invention than 
any of the former ways, and, in many circumftances, may 
be an improvement on them all. It is performed by cut- 
ting the clean fmooth roots of the flocks in pieces five or 
fix inches long, and as large, or a little larger, than the 
graft of the fame fpecies you are to put in it : Let them 
be whip-grafted and tyed together very ciofe, fo as to pre- 
vent the wet from affedling the wounded parts, and plant 
them fo deep, that the graft, which fliould be four or five 
inches long, may be about one half buried under the furface. 
This is an admirable practice, both for improving the flavour 
of fruits, and preferving a nearer fimilitude to the tree 
from whence you took your grafts ; for by this means the 
grafts will root, and thefe roots increafe as well as thofe 
from the flock : Hence, as all plants mufl draw much 



FOREST-TREES. 239 



from the flock on which they are grafted, fuch will have a 
lefs dependence, having great part of their nourifliment 
from their own proper roots^ To this circumftance I muft 
alfo obferve, that I can fee no manner of difhculty in mak- 
ing thefe grafts as genuine a fpecies as the original tree 
from which they were taken, by cutting away the ftock 
altogether, after they have flood two or three years, in 
which time they will be fufKciently rooted to admit of a 
feparation, and fucceed by themfelves. This hint may af- 
furedly be improved to much advantage, and is only mak- 
ing the fhock a temporary nurfe till the graft has acquired 
ftrength. Where this method is to be put in pra6lice, the 
grafts may be an inch or two longer than thofe before 
mentioned, as, by giving them that additional depth in the 
earth, they will the fooner and the more abundantly root, 

Th e feafon of grafting mufl be regulated according to the tem- 
per of the weather in the fpring, earlier or later as that fliall be 
more or lefs fo. The ufual time of performing it, is when the 
buds begin to fwell, which no doubt appears very confiflent with 
nature ; but as we feldom have uniformly mild weather for feve- 
ral weeks after that period, I have in my earlier years often paid 
very dear for my compliance with this fo common and feemingly 
reafonable a'time for the operation, both from a continuance of 
cold rains, and fliarp withering frofts, and that even after the grafts 
have begun to pufh out their fhoots, from whence I have frequently 
loft whole quarters of them : Therefore, from as mvich pradlee 
with my own hands in grafting as perhaps anyone man of my age 
has ever had, I advife, that the grafts, particularly of hardy free- 
(hooting trees, having been cut and laid in the ground before 



-40 TREATISE 



the bnds begin to fwell ; I fay, in that cafe, I advife the operation: 
to be deferred till the circulation of the fap is brifk, and the buds 
of the flocks are beginning to break into leaves, when the grafts, 
will immediately unite, which done earlier, cannot fo foon hap- 
pen ; befides, at this advanced time in the fpring, there is at leaft 
a greater probability that the weather afterwards will continue 
milder. At the fame time it muft be obferved, that the weak 
ilioots of tender trees will not admit of being fo long cut as the 
more hardy. 

Let it ever be a ftanding rule, not to graft while it adlually 
freezes or rains ; in either of which events, no reafonable fuccefs. 
need be expected. 

It has lately become a frequent pra6lice, after barely tyeing the 
grafts with bafs, and without the application of clay, to hoe up the 
earth fo deep as to cover the flock ; and in this way, with hardy 
trees, in a dry mild fpring, I have fucceeded to my wifhes : But 
in this country we have been fo little acquainted with thefe tem- 
perate feafons of late years, and I have fuffered fo much by my 
too fanguine hopes of better weather, that till I fee fome altera- 
tion in our climate, I fhall neither advife others, nor venture deep 
myfelf, without taking every precaution, except from abfolute 
neceffity, and where the hands needful to accomplifh the bufi- 
nefs feafonably cannot be procured. I muft therefore recom- ^ 
mend, that your grafts be tyed as firm as may be, without gal- 
ling them, that the wounded part of the flock may be intirely 
covered with the bafs, and that the clay may be well tempered, 
and put on fmooth and clofe, fully covering the bafs, and top of 
the flock, in fuch a manner as will befl expel the air, and prevent 
all other injurious effec1:s to be apprehended from cold and wet. 



P O R E S T - T R E E S. 241 



Inoculation or budding is a fpecies of grafting infinitely 
fuperior to any other yet invented for moft kinds of trees, and 
will fucceed with many forts that will not grow, nor make good 
plants, by any other means. From this pradice of only open- 
ing about an inch of the bark, and gently thru (ling in a fmall 
bud between that and the wood, there is not the fmalleft violence 
committed on the flock, which, being done in the growing feafon, 
in two or three weeks becomes perfedly found. 

This operation is commonly performed from the middle of 
June till the middle of Augufl, a little fooner or later as the fea- 
fon is more or lefs forward : But the befl rule to obferve, is to 
begin when you find the buds fully formed at the extremity of 
the fame year's fhoots, at which time they have finiflicd their 
fpring growth, and are ripe for inoculation. 

In very hot dry fummers, particularly in light thin ground, 
the bark of the flocks will not open clean and fmooth, from both 
a want and flagnation of juices : To remedy which, two or three 
weeks before the feafon of budding commences, let the flocks be 
-regularly watered every third or fourth evening ; and if fome is 
fprinkled over the tops, from the rofe of the watering-pot, to imi- 
tate Nature's watering, it will contribute much to invigorate 
them. This too may be very fuccefsfuUy applied to the trees 
from whence the buds are to be taken ; by not knowing or at- 
tending to which, I have frequently feen whole quarters of buds 
perifh, and others where the flocks were fo hide-bound that 
the bark would by no means feparate from the wood to receive 
the bud. A watering or two after the buds are put in, will like- 
wife be of ufe, 

H h 



242 



TREATISE ON 



The befl: time for budding is in cloiidy weather, (thougli 
not when it adiually rains) or in the evening of a warm dry- 
day ; for if it is done in the middle of it, the flioots will perii^^ ire 
fo fail as to leave the buds deftitute of moiflure. 

Budding is highly preferable to every operation for all kinds 
of flone fruit, which, from all the other ways of grafting, are 
very apt to produce a gum at the wounded part, witli whicn, if 
the plants are once ever fo little infected, they never after ftoot 
freely, or live long. It is likewife befl for moil of the nut-bear- 
ing trees, many of which will fucceed in no other way than by 
this, or inarching, and which, as has been faid, is rather an a- 
mufing curiofity than any folid improvement., 

Th e manner of performing the different ways of grafting, has 
been defcribed in various books on Gardening j and though for 
that reafon I would not fpare a relation of it here, yet I hold it 
altogether unnecefFary. Every regular-bred gardener is in- 
flru6led in it as the firfl elements of his profefTion ; and fimple 
as the operations are, I never knew them readily and fuccefsfully 
executed by any who had not begun early in life : I therefore 
advife all young and unexperienced gardeners, to apply for know- 
ledge in grafting, to the pradlice of it, under the diredlion of an 
able mafler, as other wife the mofl lively defcription will little a- 
vail them. 

Th e flocks on which the different kinds of trees will fucceed^ 
and others by which their fpecies will be improved, and their fruits 
meliorated^ are already mentioned in. the culture of thefe trees. 



F O R E S T - T R B E S. 



243 



Chapter XL. 

On FORESTS or WOODS, and the mofl fpeedy 
manner of Rearing them. 

T O plant a wood without inclofing it, is not only amongft the 
idleft ways of throwing away money, but is laying up a 
fund of remorfe and difcontent that muft necelTarily often occur, 
from the devaftations of cattle and ihieep, whofe browfings and 
bitings communicate a poifon to the trees, which nothing but 
cutting them below the infe6led parts will expel. Let this then 
be your firft care to perform in the moft fubftantial manner, with 
double hedges, in one or other of the ways directed, according 
to the fituation and quality of your field. 

Though the advantages arifing from timber, over moft of the 
large eftates in Great Britain where it abounds, are apparently 
great, yet Vv^e are certainly lefs attentive to the cvilture of woods 
than any other kind of plantation, and indeed than any im- 
provement we undertake. But as I believe the increafe of them, 
particularly in the cold, barren, and lefs cultivated places of the 
kingdom, would be of the utmoft importance, remove many ob- 
ftrudlions, and pave the way to general and fuccefsful hufbandry 
of various kinds, I fliall endeavour to give fome hints, which, 
if attended to, will, I am certain, much forward the growth of 
thefe plantations, and procure them in many quarters where ex- 

H h 2 



-44 TREATISE on 

perlments have already been tried in vain,, but not conduded 
judicioufly, or on proper principles. 

Where the foil is of a loofe fandy quality, the trees mufl ne- 
ceflarily be planted in pits, as, by breaking up the whole furface, 
many of them may be blown out of the ground, and others bu- 
ried by the driving of the fand, where the fituation is expofed. 
With refpe(5l to every other foil folid enough not to be driven 
by the winds, notwithftanding much has been faid in de- 
fence of pitting plants, I muft from experience, and I think plain 
reafon too, dilfent from it, and maintain, that all fuch cannot 
be too long fallowed and pulverifed, by frequent plowings and 
harrowings; grounds of a middling quality, after grafs, will re- 
quire a furamer and winter's labour at leaft ; an obftinate clay, 
not lefs than two. 

Neither is the extraordinary expence of labouring this ground 
fo great, as may atfirfl: view appear without refledling on future 
circumftances. The pits in old, hard, uncultivated land,. muft be 
made three times as large as on that which is dreffed, and ought 
to have a good deal of loofe earth round the roots, otherways,^ 
in wet feafons, the water will ftagnate and rot the fibres ; and 
in any feafon they will be fo much obftru(5led in their progrefs 
when they reach the hard uncivilized earth, as to become ftunt- 
ed and hide-bound, from which they flowly recover, and that 
feldom till they are cut over ; whereas, in the other fituation, the 
pits need be made no larger than eafily to contain the roots, as 
they will proceed in their growth, and fpreacl their roots near the.: 
furface without interruption. However, if planting the ground in: 
its natural flate is determined^ let the pits be made the preceding 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 



fpring, to corredl and meliorate the fouriiefs and obflinacv of 
the foil ; and if you can procure a mixture of more generous 
mould, and oppofite quality, let it mixed, and often blended to- 
gether with that taken out of the pits, as foon after as mav be. 
In planting after this manner on ftiff or wet land, give the greac- 
eft attention that the trees be planted no deeper than barely to 
fupport themfelves againft the winds, and that the pits may be 
dug confiderably broader for their depth, than the ufual propor- 
tion allowed in loofe dry ground. 

For a century pad the Scots Fir has been the common nurfe 
of all the better kinds of Foreft Trees in Scotland ; and one mufh 
be both ungrateful and ignorant, who is infenfible of the many 
and great advantages that country has reaped from the general 
culture of this plant. "Without it, in many fteril foils, and ex- - 
pofed fituations, we Ihould not have had a fpecimen of other thri- 
ving ufeful timber trees, where now we have beautiful plantations 
of Oak, Elm, (i^c,. Thus, though nothing is farther from my 
intention than to depretiate the Scots Fir, yet I muft beg being- 
allowed to mention others, and which I do on the moft folid of 
all foundations, experience, that will produce the fame falutary 
effeds in ten or twelve years they have done in twenty, and that 
by eafier and cheaper methods than even the fmall expence of 
railing them.. 

The plants I mean to fubftiture in the place of Firs, are the 
different kinds of Poplars, and the large Maple, in Scotland 
vulgarly called the Plane Tree : Thofe being of infinitely quicker 
growth than the Firs, can be planted of confiderable fizes on the 



246 TREATISE ON 

poorefl lands Vitli fafety, and will of courfe fooner efFed all the 
benefits that can be derived from them. 

I HAVE long thought we are more alarmed than hurt from 
the common imprefTion of hard winters being fo generally bane- 
ful to our hardy deciduous plantations, and believing that then 
only the fnelter from Firs or other plants is mod materially ufe- 
ful. That we have feen two or three winters which have hurt 
liardy plants when young, or new planted out, mull be acknow- 
ledged ; but the cafe is far from being common, and for one 
lofs of that kind, v/e have fufhained many by the violence of the 
winds in the fummer months, when the trees, pregnant with 
their juices, and loaded vv^ith leaves, are fo heavy as to yield to 
the tempeft, the roots at that time being an imequal balance to 
their bodies, whence thefe roots are often torn afunder in the 
growing feafon, bleed much, are apt to canker, and flowly, if 
ever, recover; which, in the mofh violent winter ftorms, is fel- 
domer the cafe, when the plants, much lighter, firmer in their 
fiioots, and divefted of their leaves, lefs oppofe themfelves to, and 
are more rarely conquered by the winds. 

It has already been mentioned, that the trees mufl be accom- 
modated to the different foils on which they are planted ; and it 
cannot be too much inforced, to make this obfervation with the 
greaceft attention and judgment you have, or are capable of pro- 
curing, over all the various parts of your intended vv^ood or fo- 
reft, v/herein, I am forry to fay, we have hitherto been extreme- 
ly defective. Notwithftanding then what has been faid on the 
culture of the different trees here treated of, and the ftations Na- 
ture has bcft adapted them for, it may not be amifs to repeat 



FOREST-TREES. 



fome of thefe particulars, to make v/liat is here meant more rea- 
dily underftood, without a tedious reference to the particular 
trees. 

I CANNOT help obferving, we furely betray a general want of 
tafte in the difpofition of our woods, as in few of them ^.ny re- 
gard to elegance or beauty is paid, and which, if we did, would 
add nothing to the expence. Why then may not ail our planta- 
tions be diverfihed in walks as various as thofe in our moil 
finiihed and adorned wildernelTcs ? This, though not fb fpright- 
ly and chearful a fcene, would be a no lefs magnificent one tnan 
the other, and as agreeable to many rural talhes : At the fame 
time, I fliould be afhamed to appear infenfible of the pleafure re- 
fulting from a well-planted wildernefs kept in fine order, and 
deck'd with its charming variety of hues. Thus too the free 
circulation of air in thefe walks and alleys would be communi- 
cated through the quarters of trees, make them more healthful 
and vigorous, and prevent many mortal difeafes incident to large 
crowded plantations by a fupprefTion of the damp vapours, n hich 
creates a mouldinefs hurtful to the plants, and contaminates the 
air itfelf : Befides, thofe walks, well plowed, fallowed, and laid 
fmooth, would, from the great litter of leaves 'fallen, and bloAvn 
upon them, foon become good grafs, as has been obfcrved under 
die article Poplar. 

The befl feafon for planting the light grounds, is as foon as 
pofTible after the beginning of Odober ; for the moill and heavy, 
February and March. At thefe periods, your ground being 
prepared in one or other of the ways mentioned, and ftaked out 
in the figure you chufe, proceed to planting as follows : 



248 TREATISE 



If the field is difpofed in the wildernefs way, let every quar- 
ter be bounded by a row of Poplars, at two, or two and a half 
feet afunder ; in the heaviell: and wetteft places, let them be of 
the Lombard kind, and in the thinner and lighter, of the white, 
which, of all the fpecies, will make the quickeft progrefs in fuch 
foils ; and, in order to make them yield a fpeedier fhelter, by 
growing clofe, let them be pruned or clip'd in the lides for two 
or three years. Thefe Poplars ought to be planted, either root- 
ed, or from cuttings four or five feet high, if fuch can conveni- 
ently be procured, or as near that lize as you can. If the whole 
ground is to be planted, without being divided by walks, after 
going round it as mentioned for the quarters, let lines of Pop- 
lars, running from fouth to north, be planted at about a hun- 
dred, or, in very cold expofed fituations, at eighty feet afunder. 

Th e next thing to be adverted to, is the difpofition of the 
Planes in fuch a manner as will beft promote the growth of the 
-other more valuable trees ; to efFecfl: which, I think every fecond 
line ought to be of them not next the Poplars, which will fuffi- 
ciently flicker whatever is immediately near them, but amongfl 
the trees intended for a longer continuance. 

Th e diftance of the trees over the whole plantation, (the 
bounding and dividing lines of Poplars excepted), I think, as a 
jufl medium, ought to be five feet every way ; for whatever the 
advocates for very thick planting may advance, the confequen- 
ces arifing from it, are generally more fatal, than erring in the 
oppoiite extreme. Plants may be too much crowded, or, what 
the gardeners call draivn, as well as too much expofed ; and the 
flielcer of the Plane and Poplar trees, (for the time fhall here be 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 249 

diredled, will put them beyond the want of any further afhfl- 
anc€, than they mutually communicate to one another. 

Having planted then one half of your intended Foreft, free 
from {landing water, with Planes, in rows ten feet afunder and 
five in the row, confult the genius of every fpot in it, that the 
remaining more valuable plants may be difpofed on the differ- 
ent foils they mofl delight in, which, in general, I take it to be 
as follows : 

In the moft generous, d^ep, but dry foils, the Walnut, with 
Englifh, Scots, and Cornifli Elms ; in the moift and heavy, the 
Dutch Elm ; in coarfe and ftoney, the Chefnut and Aili ; in 
light and fandy, the Larch and Beech ; and in clays of all qua- 
Hties, tho' fwampy and moffy, the Oak, Thefe are the foils 
moft univerfally prevailing in Great Britain, and thofe the trees 
nature feems beft to have fitted for fuch foils. They are alfo of 
the greateft value, and moft general ufe, tho', if a little orna- 
ment and variety is wanted, a fmall mixture of the hardy Ameri- 
can forts may be added ; l>ut profitable returns being the princi- 
pal obje(5l of this Elfay, to that I chufe, in a great mealure, to 
confine myfelf, 

Where the grounds are various, and the trees thus properly 
adapted to that variety of foils, an extenfive plantation, diverfified 
with groups of different trees in its different quarters, will ap- 
pear far more chearful and pidlurefque, than one uniform wood 
of the fame kind. 

Such a Foreft, and to be planted in the manner I here de- 
fcribe, I mean fliould be in a flat field, or at leaft one not 

I i 



TREAT ISE on 

abounding x/ith. many large ftones, for wliicli reafon only, I have 
altogether excluded the Scots Fir ; but in mountainous rocky 
fituations this plan will not fucceed near fo well", as the Poplars 
and Planes cannot have their roots covered enough to nourifli 
them at fii'ft planting : In fuch places therefore, Firs are per- 
haps the greateft improvement can be made, planted not above 
three years old, when, after two years more growth. Oaks and other 
trees may be interfperfed v^^herever the land will receive them. 
The culture of the Scots Fir then, fo far from being difcounte™ 
nanced, fliould, with the greateft propriety, be rather increafed j 
as there are ftill, in moft parts of Great Britain, more large 
trails of mountainous, beggarly, and otherways unimproveable 
furface, than the greateft induftry of feveral ages will probably 
overtake, and cover with thefe plants. But 1 fliall now proceed 
to the ages and fizes of trees beft fitted, in forbidding foils and. 
fituations, to make our Foreft flourifti.. 

Some advife, that the beft manner of rearing woods, is by 
fowing the feeds on the fpot. But of this I cannot approve, for 
feveral reafons : It is, in the firft place, a very tedious pradlice, 
allowing it to fucceed, which,, on many occafions it will not, 
the ground muft be as well prepared, kept as clear of weeds as 
in the nurfery garden, the land as regularly dug about the 
plants, and in all refpe6ls as well cultivated as thefe. It is a 
ijnall proportion of the feeds fown, and the plants that ought to 
arife from them, which can remain in the wood to make trees,, 
and, by raifmg what is fuperfluous, the plants meant to conti- 
nue are generally much injured from thofe ftanding clofe toge- 
ther about them, which circumftances will be attended with a 
much greater expence in the end, before thefe plants are out o£ 
danger, than at once making a handfome finifhed plantation^.. 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 251 

I AM therefore againft raifing a Forefl, after this manner, with 
other plants than the Walnut, Chefnut, Evergreen Oak, and a 
few of the other nut-bearing trees, that do not eafily remove, 
or grow freely after it, and even of thofe only where timber, 
without regard to fruit, is defired ; in which cafe, fuch are pre- 
ferable to the beft otherways cultivated plants, where the land 
is not extremely bad. 

Other gardeners, and indeed I am afraid the greateft part 
of them, argue in defence of planting feedlings two years old, 
as the moft hardy, and likely to fucceed, in our barren, cold and 
imcultivated foils. This practice, however univerfal, and long 
fandtified by cuftom, has no weight with me, as, from many 
trials, I have found it abfurd ; and I cannot help declaring, I 
think it both againft nature and common fenfe, nor can I in any- 
other way account either for its beginning or continuance, than 
the bad culture too generally given our trees in the nurfery, to 
which being removed from the feed-bed, they are dibbled in 
without a proper redu6lion of their roots, fo as to procure abun- 
dance of frelh fpreading ones, and crowded fo thick together, as 
foon to become much worfe than good feedlings, from hard car- 
roty roots, without mouths to feed themfelves, and tall flender 
bodies, unable to bear a gentle breeze of wind. 

I PRESUME no honeft fenfible gardener will deny, that feed- 
ling trees in general have one downright top-root, with few fmall 
roots and fibres, in comparifon of fuch as have been raifed, their 
roots {hortened, and tranfplanted ; or that thefe tranfplantations, 
repeated at proper periods, will not ftill increafe the roots, and 
otherways, by change of food and fituation, render the plants 

I i 2 



252 TREATISE 



more hardy. If this is the cafe, it appears to me no lefs ridi- 
culous to affert, a young tender plant fliould be as hardy, juft 
taken from a warm feed-bed, and immediately expofed to a bleak 
fituation, and cold uncultivated foil, as that an infant from the 
breaft fliould be able to bear the inclemency of the feafons, and 
live and thrive with coarfer food, and lefs flicker, than a child 
virho has been properly nouriflied for fome confiderable time, 
and inured by degrees to various changes.. 

The analogy between the animal and vegetable creation, 
which in many circumfl^nces are very intimate, is not too far 
llretched in the prefent comparifon, nor is what I have advanced' 
a fpeculative notion ; but to exemplify it, I fliall mention the 
following experiments to that effedt, and which I have repeatedly 
tried : 

I HAVE fown the feeds of Foreft Trees on the poorefl: ground, 
planted feedlings, and fl:rong well-nurfed trees, from five to ten feet 
high, on the fame ground, and at the fame time, where the old 
well- cultivated plants^ have frequently made goodly trees, when 
the feedlings have periflied, and, from the fl:eriiity and coldnefs of 
the foil, the feeds have not fo much as vegetated. In fliort, the 
mouths of feedlings are not fo well fitted as larger plants, to 
draw fufficient nourifliment from crude, rank, and uncultivated 
foils ; and as I have truly found what is here faid in many in- 
ftances to be the cafe, I am obliged to believe, that the general 
practice of planting feedlings in poor, and larger trees in good 
land, fliould be quite reverfed ; but ftill attending to this mofl; 
eflentiai and indifpenfible circumfl:ance, that the large plants have 
been removed as direded, and othexways properly cultivated. 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 



253 



Having then planted your nurliiig trees, and rcjeclcd both 
the fovving of feeds, and planthig of feedhngs in your wood ; I 
fliould advife your plants to be four or five years old, that i,'-, 
to have been removed at the proper times already mentioned 
from the feed-bed, and cultivated in the nurfery two or diree 
years, more or lefs according to their kinds, and the qucdi y- of 
the ground whereon they Hand ; with luch finiHi your plant^iuon, 
in the manner, and at the diftances of the Planes. Thofe mtcs 
will be able to get the better of all weeds, but a few of the iarge- 
growing forts ; and the land may be cultivated by hoeing in 
fummer, and digging in the autumn and fpring months, or 
not, agreeable to the expence you chufe to lay out, tho', if cnat 
expence is bellowed for three or four years, the more vigorous 
growth of tlie trees will foon amply repay it. 

When thefe plants have flood four years, but not longer, take- 
away every fecond Plane, and, in two years more, the remain- 
der of them, witli, every fecond tree of the other kinds, which 
will leave the vv^holc plantation at ten feet afunder. 

Th e trees raifed cannot be loft to a perfon v/ho has any con- 
fiderable extent of land, few large Britilli eftates being yet too 
much crowded with wood over all parts of them. They may 
be planted on the farms in hedge-rows, and many various 
ways to great advantage, and would ftand a great deal of money 
from a nurferyman ; fo that the expence of this plantation ought 
not to be grudged, having effetfled tvfo of the moil capital 
points on any eftate, a thriving wood, and a good nurfery. 

¥rom this time thefe plants will require no further troubiCj 
than pruning away the ill-placed fuperfluous branches, till tliev 



254 TREATISE on 

bring money, which they ought to do in eighteen or twenty 
years from phmting, at which time three-fourths more of the 
remaining trees, and all the Poplars, mviftbe taken away, which 
reduces them to twenty feet afunder, and when the value of the 
timber, cut for country ufes, will certainly exceed both the ex- 
pence of labour and rent of the ground, much more than any other 
crop will ; befides, the trees at thefe diftances will not hereafter 
prevent the ground from yielding good pafhure, and the value 
of the plantation, for fifty years afterwards, will annually in- 
creafe in greater proportion than before. 

Though I have mentioned the whole trees in this Foreft to 
be planted the fame feafon, yet if the nurfing ones, which are 
foon to be taken away, were planted a year or two before the 
others, particularly in very bad foils, and expofed fituations, it 
would, in place of lofing, be gaining time, as, from their imme- 
diate and extraordinary fhelter, the better trees would have lit- 
tle check from the winds the firft feafon, which when they meet 
with in a violent degree, often keeps them at a ftand for feveral 
years. It is therefore of the greateft confequence, that every 
pofTible affiftance be given them, to encourage a free growth at 
being firft planted out. 

Notwithstanding of warmly recommending flielter at firft 
planting, as the moft probable means of fooneft procuring a 
flourifliing plantation, yet I muft no lefs recommend attention 
in taking away the necefTary proportions, where too thick, fea- 
fonably as they advance ; from which negledl, I have often feen 
many extenfive plantations of noble Oaks ruined, by being 
overhung with Scots Firs, which not admitting a free circulation 



i 



FOREST-TREES. 255 



of air, they have been drawn up to the moft difproportioncd 
heights, and this misfortune nothing but cutting over will ef- 
fedlually cure ; but the different periods here dirccTted for thin- 
ning them, will generally anfwer your intentions. 

From the late and now univerfal tafte in all new and expen- 
five defigns in the garden way, of throwing a large extent of 
ground about the houfe into lawns of grafs, many fruit-trees, 
which in former times generally grew in the kitchen garden, 
and thefe gardens adjoining to the houfe, are now deffcroyed, 
from whence common fruit has rifen in price to the full propor- 
tion of every other article in life. I cannot therefore but be- 
lieve, that an orchard, which, fenfibly planted, will little or not 
at all impede the growth of grafs, corn, and other vegetables, 
would foon become the higheft improvement the lands in this 
country are capable of receiving : But a differtation on Fruit- 
trees being foreign to the prefent fubjecfl, I only mention, that 
if fome of the moft favourable quarter! for fruit were inclofed, 
and planted with ftrong well-cultivated trees of them, in four- 
teen or fixteen years, every tenth acre of the orchard would cer- 
tainly pay the whole expence laid out in our Foreft, and lay the 
foundation, without further expence, of an eftate, increafing 
eonfiderably for ages. Apples and Pears, the moft certain and 
profitable ftandard fruits, will fucceed in land of any tolerable 
depth, though coarfe and heavy, having been expofed and me- 
liorated by the winter's froft and fumnier's fim^ 



J* 



T R K A T I S E ON 

Chapter XLL 

On making TREES fit for Pvemoval, that have flood 
unculdvaced and Loo thick in Nurferies or Woods. 

'T^ HOUGH the longeft experience, and mofl: extenfive knov/- 
-5 ledge in planting, will not for many years, if ever, bring 
overgrown unremov'd trees to the comely figure and luxuriant 
growth of thofe that have been reared from young plants, ac- 
cording to the preceding direcflions, yet, where one cannot pro- 
cure fuch, and have of the former, they may turn them to ac- 
count, and foon make a figure in a bare field, or about a new- 
built houfe. 

The trees worthy of this labour ought not to exceed four^ 
teen or fixteen years growth, or from twenty to twenty-five feet 
high, as, if older, in general the cutting of either their roots or 
bodies will be doing them a violence they will never recover fo 
perfecflly as to become handfome trees, but ever continue in a 
fpreading bufhy form,. 

The forts to be treated in this manner, are the different fpe- 
cies of Elms, of which the Englifh, as the moft afpiring, and 
that fooneft recovers its wounds, is far the moft proper. The 
Lime will bear this operation at a great fize, foon heal, and 
afterv/ards may be formed with eafe to any fhape you pleafe % 



F O R E S T - T R E E S. 



The Afli and Oak will likeways admit of cutting well enough at 
the ages mentioned, but thefe ought to be cut higher in proportion 
to their bulk than the former, and where the bark is fmoother 
and thinner; from whence the fhoots will be fewer, and rife in 
a more perpendicular direction. In this dire6lion, and in the 
ftrength of the branches, they will be much afTifted, by rubbing 
off all the tender fhoots, but one or two of the moft erecl and 
vigorous, from the beginning till the end of June. 

The Beech, the Platanus, the large-leaved Maple, the Horn- 
beam, the Sweet Chefnut, the Horfe Chefnut, the Poplar, and 
the Laburnum, will alfo bear being reduced in height, but will 
not afterwards grow lofty, or in the pyramidal form, but, in de- 
tached trees, on lawns, or other grafing fields, may make grace- 
ful fpreading plants, and afford an agreeable falutary retreat for 
men or cattle from the fcorching fummer heats. 

Th e firfl flep to be taken in this bufinefs, is, to mark out 
what trees (if any) you intend fhould remain on the fpot, as al- 
fo thofe you mean to remove for planting again, leaving them 
at fuch diftances, as that there may be fufEcient bounds for 
making a deep trench round each plant for undermining them 
the. following feafon. This being done, in autumn grub out by the 
roots all the others, and trench the ground at leaft three feet 
deep, of whatever quality it be, which will encourage many 
fpreading roots from the fides, and better prepare them for what 
is to enfue. Early in the fucceeding fpring,, cut your trees over 
at a lliitable height, a good deal flanting, immediately above 
where buds are, or branches have been, and rub over the wound 
with pitch, or cover it with a plaifler of clay mix'd with horfe- 

K k 



2sS TREATISE on 

dung, fuch. as lias been diredled for grafts. It is impofTible 
juftly to afcertain the height thefe trees fhould be reduced to, 
that depending on their proportions, as the (Irong-bodied 
plants muft be cut higher than the more flender of the fame 
height. I fhall fuppofe them, from {landing very thick, to be 
drawn the length of twenty-five feet; in that event, cutting 
them from twelve to fifteen feet high may probably be about 
a proper medium, but the precife ftandard muft depend on 
Ibme litde knowledge in the operator, or rather diretlor, as 
indeed the wounding or pruning of trees of every kind, ancL 
for every particular purpofe, ought not to be left to the barbarity 
of common labourers, but have more attention beftowed, and 
gentler treatment given them, than they ufually meet with.. 

The general pracftice in cafes of this kind, is reducing both-, 
the tops and roots of the tree at the fanqie time : But this is a fe- 
verity they will not bear ; for though they may outlive it a few 
years, it M'ill be but in a confumptive way, from which they 
never fully recover : Therefore, to do this efFedlually, two years, 
more muft at leaft be employed.- 

Th e following fpring then, make a trench between three and 
four feet deep, and full four feet wide, round all the plants to 
be removed : Bend the tree fo far to one fide, as that you can 
come eafily at the downright roots ; after which, v/ith. a £harp 
hatchet, cut them acrofs, but leave the fide-roots, particularly 
diofe neareft the furface, as little difturbed as may be : This 
being done, replace the plant in its former upright ftation, and 
-brow back the eartli taken from about it. 



1 



F O R E S T - T 11 E S. 



A YEAR after, open the fame trench, and fliortcn all the fprcacl- 
ing lide-roots, which will much increafe their number, and 
make the earth adhere to them when the trees arc raifed foi' 
good, and which thej may be the facceeding feafon, but it will 
ftill be better if they remain another. It may naturally occur, 
that if any of the trees are to remain, reducing their overgrown 
heights is all that is necelTary to be done with them. 

Til E reafon of taking two or three feafons for preparing thefc 
roots in the manner dire(5led, is, that the ftrength of the trees 
may be as little impaired as poflible, particularly fuch as you 
intend to grov\r lofty in the pyramidal form, which, when all 
the wounding operations are performed at once, they cannot do, 
as the flioots, from wcaknefs, will not grow perpendicular, but 
loofe and ftraggling, though, by uling thefe precautions, and ha- 
ving this patience, which in the main is lofing no time, the up- 
right fhoots will be ftraight and vigorous before the trees are 
raifed, and, being furniflied with plenty of young frefli roots, 
they will rife with bulks of earth about them, and continue in 
a healthful ftate. 

For the beft manner of planting thefe trees, fee the Elm. 



FINIS. 



POSTSCRIPT. 



the foregoing Treatise u favourably received by the 
Public, another^ on Fru it-Trees, ivill fuddenly follovu, prin- 
cipally ivritte^i a good many years ago, and before any part of 
this ivas farther advanced than Notes taken from the different 
effeBs of different pra6lices. What is meant to fucceed, ivas 
founded during very extenfive practice, and the refult of a great 
variety of annually repeated experiments and obfervations for a- 
bove tivefity years ; during ivhich time, fortune ivas favourable, 
and liberally afforded all the aids neceffary to make the fullefl and 
mofl accurate enquiries into the nature of that fubjecl, being pro- 
vided vuith a coifiderable extent of ground in the happiefl fitu- 
ation this country ivill admit, and a greater variety of the better 
kinds of foil than I have ever knoivn in that extent. Thefe 
favourable opportunities ivere not for forae time given in vain : 
A great number of ivall, efpalier, and fandard Fruit-trees, ivere 
planted out — for all the different purpofes, and in all the different 
forms hitherto direHed or praflfed : Hence every opportunity of 
hiftruclion ivas given, and the ?naterials for the propofed publi- 
cation ivere colleded. 

From the latenefs of our Spring, and JJoortnefs of our Summer 
months, ive are, by ifual praBice, incapable of ripening the befl 
kinds of French Fruits, even on our ivarmef fouth ivalls ; and 
our common efpalier and fandard kinds, that come late in Au- 
tumn, are, many of them, frotn ivant of maturity, unhealthy, — and 
all of them far from perfctlion. 



V O S T S G R I P ■ ' T. 



1/ thcn^ nttenJed ivitb many other agreeable clrciunjlances, a 
method JJjall he plainly pointed out for ripening our Winter l^rtiits, 
in all their 'various fituations^ at leaf, three v/esks earlier than 
they now are, and at the fame time i})ipro-jing them both in fize 
andfai'our, T muf imagine fich a difcovery ought to-intitle a jnan 
to the protedion and encouragement of the Public, as the effe5is 
o.rfing from it niuf be both honourable and prof table to the uuhoh 
if and of Great Britain. By profecuting this plan, ive /Jjould, 
to my certain knoivledge, eat at leaf as good fruit at Edinburgh 
as they no-iv do at London, — a?id, as near as I can judge, much 
about as good at London as they do at Paris. 

I am uery feiifihle, that to ignorant and illiterate Gardeners 
this tvill appear a ridiculous, and even to thofe of competent 
knoivledge and objervation, a fangiiine attempt ; but I can honefly^ 
and •zvill therefore boLily affir'm, from no f ighter a foundation than 
having already done fo, that I can not only perform the ntraof 
circnmfance here advanced, but do it hkevuays by eafy means, 
and tvitkout any additional expence to the ufual culture vuorth 
naming. 

The original bent of my genius inclining me to the fudy of Fruits, 
and my frf Efciys on Gardening being experiments on improving 
their culture, / have long intended the publication noiv propofed ; 
hut a had fate of health, hefides the great expence of Plates, &c. 
that muf neceffarily attend fuch a ivork, and fome other unlucky 
circumfances, has hitherto prevented me : And noiv I am not forry 
it Vijas delayed, as the longer I have lived, and during the 
farther continued courfe of my ohferv ations , I have ever found 
that kindly luarmth proceeding from the floelter of Forejl-trees, 
and Hedges, no lefs effential toivards the produclion of generous 



POSTSCRIPT. 

Fruits^ than other common vegetable crops ; ivhence the Treatlfe 
noiv prefented^ ought naturally to precede the other dejigned. 

Tho many are the examples I could g 'l've from the improvements 
made on the culture of Fruity — -it may here he fufficient only to 
mention one : That I have eat my oivn Golden Pippins at Edinburgh, 
fully ripe, double the common Jize, and in all refpecls in the 
highefl perfeBion, the beginning of November. Upon the vuhole, 
had I a thoufand lives at command, I ivould fake or rifque 
them all, without the fnallefi anxiety, on the fuccefs of vohat 
is above mentioned. 

As I have noticed the indifcretion of fome Authors, by ivriting 
on all the various branches of Gardening, — it may here be 
necejfary to if form the ignorant, that I do not fubje^l myfelf to 
that jiift cenfure by the propofed vuork. The culture of Fruit and 
Foref -trees, in many material circumfances, are Jimilar, and the 
fudy of them entirely confiflent vuith one another, — or rather, but 
ttvo parts of the fame plan. 



